Healing of the Heart
by Elemental Gypsy
Summary: HiroKai, Mpreg:: One reckless night of pure bliss with Hiro before he left was all that it took to change Kai’s life completely. Pregnant, Kai has to cope raising their son, Toshiro without him. But what happens when Hiro reappears…four year later?
1. One Reckless Night

**Title:** Healing of the Heart  
**Summary:** One reckless night of pure bliss with Hiro before he left, gallivanting around the globe was all that it took to change Kai's life completely. Pregnant, Kai has to cope raising their son, Toshiro without him. But what happens when Hiro reappears…four years later?  
**Pairings:** Hiro/Kai  
**Warnings:** Male Pregnancy. Adult themes. Lemon scenes. A bit of coarse language. And a bit of fluff.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Beyblade, but I do own Toshiro and Dr. Satoru Tenzen that will feature in future chapters.

This is dedicated to sanctuarydreams who requested a Hiro/Kai mpreg fic. Thank you sooo much for being so patient! Hopefully, it's be worth the wait.

Ok, I haven't written an Mpreg for a long time, so lets see how I go. This will no doubt be a long fic, just how long I am uncertain. Hey, I'm making this up as I go. I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 1:**

**One Reckless Night**

"Coffee, thanks," Kai says quickly as he approaches the counter of his usual coffee shop, the elderly man behind the counter recognizing him immediately.

"The usual?" he asks as he pulls out an extra large disposable cup.

Kai is about the answer when his phone gives a shrill ring, alerting him to a text message. He outwardly groans, assuming that the message must be from Tyson. He's been excited about something all day, and seems to be scheming something. Surprisingly, the world champion hasn't blurted it out yet. The slightly pudgy teen isn't exactly known for keeping secrets. He has a good heart, he's just…loud.

"Never mind the water," Kai mutters as he rolls his eyes at the message. "Just give me the beans to chew on."

The elderly man simply laughs as he sets about getting Kai's liquid coffee. This place is no Starbucks and Kai is grateful for that. It's not as crowded, he has a place where he can come and brood to himself in silence and the coffee seems to have more body when one takes time to brew it carefully.

"A bit of a hectic day, Kai?" a familiar voice asks from behind the silently fuming teen.

A look of surprise appears on Kai's face as he turns around, finding himself nearly colliding with a wall of hard muscles and perfectly bronze skin. Tilting his head back to look upwards, he stares into a pair of deep mahogany eyes that seem to be shimmering with a sense of amusement.

Kai can't help but let a small shiver race down his spine, this reaction occurring every time Hiro looks at him so intently with those eyes of his. They seem so wise and all knowing, often times hard and intense. And yet, they hold this warmth at times, making one feel weak at the knees at a mere glance.

"No more than usual," Kai finally replies, tearing his gaze from Hiro's intense eyes to pay for his coffee. He steps to the side as Hiro orders a drink as well. He lingers for a moment, unsure what to do before deciding that he should probably go see what Tyson wants.

But not before he enjoys this coffee. He'll probably need it to keep his strength up.

"Busy at the moment?" Hiro suddenly asks, placing at large hand on Kai's shoulder, successfully stopping him from going anywhere. "We haven't spoken for a while. Why don't we just sit down for a chat?"

Kai pauses for a moment to consider his option. Sit down with Hiro for a nice chat, or go back to the dojo where chaos seems to reign supreme?

"Sure, I'm not busy at the moment," he finally answers, subconsciously shoving his phone into his back pocket while putting it on silence. He then allows Hiro to lead him towards the corner of the quaint little coffee shop, taking up a cozy little two seater.

"So," Hiro starts as he lounges in his chair, looking as cool and casual as ever. "Why are the others bugging you today?"

Rolling his eyes skyward, Kai releases a snort as he sets his drink on the table. "Since when do they need an excuse? Truth be told, I really have no idea. Tyson is acting all secretive and funny for the last couple of days. He's hiding something."

"Sorry, my fault," Hiro suddenly chuckles after a moment and he lifts a hand in front of him in an apologetic and peaceful gesture.

"Oh?" Kai arches an eyebrow as he picks up his drink and takes a sip of his coffee. "How so?"

"I'm 21 years-old today," Hiro explains as a charming smile appears on his lips. "He's probably planning a party."

"I didn't know that," Kai mutters in surprise as he places his drink on the table in front of him. "Happy birthday, then."

"Thank you," Hiro replies, still smiling that infectious smile of his. "It will be so long as I avoid the dojo for a while. I know I should probably go, as I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Leaving?" Kai repeats, the sudden admission startling him into nearly spilling his precious drink all over the floor and table. "Tomorrow? I thought you were going to hang around for a while?"

"I was, but a once in a life time opportunity to explore the Sahara desert came up and I couldn't say no," Hiro replies as he scratches the back of his neck, his body language telling Kai that he feels a little guilty about taking off, but yet excited at the same time.

Inwardly, Kai feels a hint of annoyance that Hiro has only just told him about his little adventure today. He also feels a sense of disappointment. How long will this adventure be? It could be a month, or even a year. No one can ever tell with these sorts of explorations.

"Well, at least you're doing what you want, right?" Kai says, expertly managing to hide the disappointment in his voice. He wishes he could just pack up his things without a care in the world and do whatever he wants. But until he can get his hands on his inheritance, he has to settle with BBA funded business trips.

Without realizing it, Kai releases a small sigh of discontentment, silently wishing that the young coach would stay a little bit longer. He knows it's silly to have a crush on his teammate's older brother, who also happened to be his coach for a short time. But Hiro is a very attractive young man, there's no denying that.

Even so, he might have admitted to himself that he has a crush on him, but he won't ever voice his feelings. Besides, there's no point now. Hiro's taking off around the world again, and will most likely forget about him.

He just wishes there was some way he could make Hiro remember him. Or for Hiro to leave something to remember him by…

"There's something I want to do before I leave, though," Hiro murmurs as he leans across the table to trail a finger up Kai's bare arm. "It's something I've always wanted to for a long time now."

Kai finds himself swallowing thickly at the obvious passion in Hiro's voice and feels his heart increase its pace in his chest. "Oh?" he replies, trying his best to ignore the obvious heating sensation spreading across his cheeks. "And what would that be?"

Hiro continues to gaze at him with those intense eyes, slowly moving to take in every inch, every detail of Kai's delicate face. "You're a beautiful person," he whispers as he scoots over in his chair. "I'm not ashamed to admit that I am attracted to you."

Heat immediately rushes to Kai's cheeks and he bites the inside of his mouth in an effort to see whether he is dreaming. This has to be a dream. Moments before he was thinking that he would never let Hiro know his feelings for him, and then the Beyblade coach just blurts out he's attracted to him?

Suddenly Hiro frames Kai's face in his two hands, holding him still as he leans across the table and kisses him on the lips, softly at first, but when Kai lets his eyes drift close and leans into the kiss, it quickly turns passionate. Hiro quickly slips his tongue past his lips to caress and search every inch of his mouth, with such hunger that he causes Kai's heart to skip a beat.

"I know it's wrong," Hiro murmurs as he momentarily breaks the kiss, but still leaning well into Kai's personal space. "But I want you so badly."

Without weighing up any possible consequences that his action might cause, Kai finds himself nodding slowly, knowing all to well what Hiro is referring to, even though it makes his blush darken a shade or two. He can hear the lust in Hiro's voice and now that he looks closely, he can see the lust in his eyes.

"Just one night," Hiro whispers as he lightly brushes his lips against Kai's again, still holding his face in his large hands. "Something to remember me by."

Kai feels his breath hitch in his throat as he peers out through his eyelashes. "How long will you be gone?" he asks.

"I don't know," Hiro murmurs, a sense of guilt and uncertainty in his voice.

Dare he? Dare he give himself completely and utter to Hiro for what could be one night only?

"Alright," Kai replies as he places his hands on Hiro's. "For tonight only, I'll be completely yours. Think of it as a special birthday present."

Hiro lingers for a moment before leaning forward and pulling Kai into another hard and passionate kiss, one that lasts for a minute or more before he reluctantly pulls away. "Your place or mine?"

"My place," Kai quickly answers, anticipation welling up in his stomach as Hiro takes him by the hand and helps him to his feet. "Your family is most likely hiding out at you place."

"Good point," Hiro replies as he fumbles for the keys to his car in his pocket. "Don't want them to interrupt, would we?"

--

Small silver streaks of the morning light gently bathe the room in a soft glow as it reaches through the hastily drawn curtains of Kai's bedroom. Muttering a small mew, Kai rolls over in bed onto his back, a visible wince appearing on his face when a streak of discomfort shoots up his spine.

Blearily opening his eyes, Kai casts a glance around his room, in a light state of confusion as to why he's in a bit of pain. But as soon as that question echoes through his mind, images of last night's activities quickly bombard his inner musings.

Hands where hands have never been before. Lips touching in a way never thought possible. Clothes being cast aside in haste. Naked body against naked body, lips pressed against willing and swollen lips. Moans and mews of pleasure mingling with pants and groans of satisfaction. The feeling of finally being fulfilled overwhelming him, being escorted to the brink of ecstasy over and over again.

A deep blush adorns Kai's cheeks as he drapes an arm over his eyes and he releases a groan of embarrassment as he remembers more. The way Hiro pushed up him against the front door, unable to hold himself back any longer, quickly removing their articles of clothing. They didn't even make it to the bedroom where Hiro took him for the first time. They fell in a naked heap in the hallway, both of them wanting release right there and now. The feel of Hiro's hard body leaning over him, his coarse fingers trailing blazing hot trails up and down his skin, his pulsating manhood driving deep inside, hitting his sweet spot over and over again. Kai has never felt anything so pleasurable in his life.

That was his first time, and because of Hiro, it wasn't his last.

According to Hiro, that was just a warm up. And he was right. The real passion begun the moment they stepped into Kai's bedroom. Immediately, they threw caution to the wind and let themselves succumb to their passion.

Kai can't even count how many times he cried out Hiro's name in pleasure, clinging to him desperately as his body reacted in an almost violent manner, reaching high pleasure, before coming down with blissful satisfaction, only to find himself on the edge of sheer indulgence once again.

Kai isn't sure how many times they 'did it'. Three…maybe four?

Looking to the other side of the bed, Kai finds it complete empty. He sits up in bed, wincing with pain races up his spine again and glances around his room. He notices a white piece of paper on his bedside table and assumes that Hiro left him a note. Snatching the note off the table, Kai scans the words quickly, but after a moment his eyebrow gives a sudden twitch and he scrunches the note in his hand.

"That jackass," Kai mutters as he falls back into bed, rolling onto his stomach as he buries his face in the pillow. The note tells him that the reason won't be there in the morning is because he had to race off to catch his early morning flight. And that he didn't want to wake him because he looked cute, yet exhausted at the same time.

He wanted to see the young coach one last time before he left on his little adventure as he has no idea how long he will be gone. But at least he has some pretty powerful memories to cherish if he should be gone longer than a few months.

"The least he could have done was awoken me before he left," Kai murmurs.

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There, the start of yet another fic. Can't help it... Haven't written a Hiro/Kai for a long time, either. Hope I'm not too rusty. I also hope you liked the first chapter!

Please review.


	2. The Price of Passion

Reviews: Wow! A big thanks to; MintCa, chrono-contract, sasukoi, orphen chica, dark-phoenix-4eva, Dranza the Phoenix Goddess, Painted Ys, sanctuarydreams, lilly, NapoleonDaGreat, OnlyNotReally, shininglake, Rapunzelle, Blaze Queenie, Surrealtraversity, the Light Shadow, storm05, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, LunaLocket, Tenshi of Freedom, Kaz-za-15 and DancerInTheDark101 for taking the time to review!!

I'm so glad you like the first chapter. I hope you enjoy this one as well.

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**Chapter 2:**

**The Price of Passion**

Laying his head on the table in front of the low volume TV, Kai can't help but utter a small sigh to himself. It's been two weeks since that passionate night he shared with Hiro before he went gallivanting across the world and no one has heard a word from him since. Not that he can say he's surprised at all. It's hard to communicate to the outside world when you're in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

Gramps was disappointed that Hiro didn't at least see him before he left, but he has this sense of understanding as well. Hiro is so much like his father. He's a free spirit, a wanderer by nature. He can't help but make unpredictable decisions and acting on them in a blink of an eye. Despite his age, Gramps is still as sharp as a tack, but even he has a hard time keeping up with Hiro.

Tyson was livid when he found out that Hiro skipped town on his birthday. He's been planning a surprised 21st birthday party for about a week, but all that planning falls to bits as Hiro couldn't be found anywhere.

He just doesn't know where to look.

Kai swallows a groan of annoyance and resists the urge to bash his head against the hard table as images of that night play over in his head. It's only been two weeks and he remembers every single feeling that Hiro evoked within him. He has dreams about that night and when he awakes, he has this sense of disappointment whenever he realizes it was just a dream and Hiro isn't sharing his bed.

He can't believe that he's missing the handsome coach as much as he is. He's only been gone for two weeks and he already feels gutted. Hiro always had this presence about him, and to have him hanging around for so long and then disappearing suddenly, seems to have left this void behind.

It's a little unnerving to say the least.

For the last few days, Kai has been feeling nauseous, lightheaded and yesterday morning he even threw up. He has never really had a good relationship with food, but he does love his coffee. But as the last few days he can't even stand the smell of the beans and they literally make his gag. And he's been eating more than he usually does. He even ate a jelly-filled doughnut Max gave to him the other day. He immediately regretted it, though. It made him sick afterwards, leaving him queasy, yet he was still hungry.

He also doesn't have the energy he used to. He's been feeling increasingly lethargic. He gets tired making his bed and has to sit down to gather his bearings when he is overcome with a dizzy sensation in his head.

He must have some kind of virus, or something. Maybe it's just stress from missing Hiro more than he thought he would.

Wonder what he's doing now? No doubt living out his dream of exploring the word, that lucky bastard.

"Tyson, for heaven's sake, stop pouting!" Hilary orders. "It's been two weeks already."

A wince appears on Kai's face as Hilary's voice seems to grow in pitch and echo through his head. Is it possible for your head to pulsate in pain, yet feel lightheaded at the same time?

"I'm not pouting," Tyson heatedly replies, crossing his arms over his chest as he sticks his bottom lip out. He's not pouting though; he's just brooding in a kid-like way. "I can't believe him. Taking off without telling us. That jerk!"

Ray sighs as he leans on the table next to Kai, taking a moment to give the dual hair teen a look of concern before flickering those amber eyes towards Tyson. "The least he could have done was tell us when he was going. He would have known a few days prior, wouldn't he?"

"Hiro has always been spontaneous," Kai murmurs from his spot, not having the energy to move his head, simply letting it rest on his arms, over the table. "It's just his nature."

"I know," Tyson finally sighs in defeat and shakes his head. "He's still a jerk though. Where did he say he was going again? A desert, or something, right?"

"The Sahara Desert," Kai explains from his spot, sounding like he's ready to drop of to sleep. Suddenly, he snaps his head up when he feels someone poke him in the back. He glances over his shoulder to find a pair of baby blue eyes staring at him in concern.

"Are you feeling alright, Kai?" Max asks, concern evident in his voice.

"Just a headache," Kai replies quickly as he pushes himself into a sitting position and then struggling to his feet. "I'm going to start lunch."

"Are you sure it's just a headache, Kai?" Ray asks, trying his best to discreetly prod for the truth. He has his lips in a thin line, his body language telling Kai that he doesn't believe him.

"Yes, I'm sure," Kai replies tersely as he makes his way out of the room, choosing to ignore the obvious sighs of irritation coming not only from Ray, but Max, Hilary and Tyson. Kai bites his tongue in an attempt to prevent the feeling of guilt from appearing in his chest. He knows they are just concerned for him, but he doesn't want them to worry needlessly.

Walking into the kitchen, Kai sets about gathering his ingredients for a quick, but wholesome meal. He's feeling uncharacteristically hungry and has a craving for something spicy. Stir fry it is.

Chopping up the vegetables, Kai shakes his head and blinks harshly as he tries to will away the sudden bout of dizziness that seems to have taken resident in his head. He stops what he is doing to lean against the counter, one handing gripping the bench as the other ventures up to hold his forehead in an feeble attempt the stop the room from spinning.

Suddenly, dark spots appear before his eyes and the room seems to tilt to one side. His mind starts to feel fuzzy, as if he's about to drop off to sleep and then his hearing seems to disappear, only the sound of blood pulsating through his head rings true.

After a moment of blackness, Kai finds himself feeling like he just woke up from a broken sleep, heavy in the head and blurry in the eyes. It feels like only a second has passed, and yet all these voices he can hear weren't in the same room as he is seconds ago.

What just happened? It feels like he blacked out or something. Opening his eyes, the first thing Kai sees through his blurry sight is that Ray is leaning over him, one hand behind his head, the other checking for his pulse on his wrist. His brow suddenly furrows, whether it's from concern or annoyance, Kai isn't sure at this point.

Suddenly, a familiar blonde head pops into view and blue eyes shimmering with blatant concern bores into his. A look of relief brightens Max's face and a small smile appears on his lips. "He's awake!" he calls out, as if alerting everyone.

"Kai!" They cry out in relief, all pushing to gather around. Looking at the sea of face, Kai realizes that not only are Tyson and Hilary looking at him in concern, but so are Daichi, Kenny and Gramps himself. They went out to do some shopping and weren't going to be back for a while. How long was he out for?

"You scared the hell out of us, Kai," Tyson says, a sigh of relief passing his lips.

"What happened?" Kai asks as he tries to sit up, and manages to do so with the aid of Ray's arm around his shoulders.

"You fainted," Ray explains, his brow furrowing even more with a mixture of concern, annoyance and a hint of guilt for not foreseeing this. "I walked in and asked if you needed help, but you didn't answer. One second you were leaning against the counter, holding your head, the next you were falling to the floor."

"It was lucky Ray caught you before you hit the floor," Hilary says, sending Ray a grateful look. "Or you would have had a serious head injury."

"Take the K-man to the spare room," Gramps orders, pointing down the hallways with his kendo stick. "If the funky feeling doesn't fade, we'll call the doc, you dig?"

Kai groans at the mention of a doctor only to eep a second later when Ray stands to his feet, taking Kai with him, holding him effortlessly in his arms bridal style. An indignant look appears on Kai's face when Ray carries him into the spare bedroom and carefully placing him on the bed.

"I'm fine," Kai mutters with a hint of irritation as Ray tries to feel his forehead. "I just have a headache."

"You need to see a doctor, Kai," Ray tries to reason with him. "You might have a virus. You've thrown up a couple of times, haven't you?"

Kai immediately snaps his attention to Ray, a look of surprise, with a tinge of guilt appearing on his features. "How do you know?"

"The down side of being a neko-jin," Ray explains and points to his nose. "I have an extremely good sense of smell. I wanted to say something, but knowing you, you'd deny everything just so you won't be a burden."

A sigh passes Kai's lips and he pinches the bridge of his nose. A part of him wants to deny that there is anything wrong, but another part of him feels a little fearful; he has never felt this bad before. It's really inferring with his life, he can't train, he can't work. He can't do anything without feeling tired or literally feeling sick to his stomach.

"Fine," Kai mutters in defeat, choosing to ignore the look of triumph on Ray's face as he points to his mobile on the table. "Give me my phone. I won't go to the doctors, but I will call a doctor. He's an old friend of mine."

He doesn't trust doctors, but Dr. Tenzen is the only one who managed to gain his trust.

--

With his white doctor's coat hanging off one shoulder, a man about mid thirties runs a hand through his long, dark aqua green hair, heavy bags hang under his apple green eyes as a look of utter disbelief adorns his face.

"Now, I've seen everything."

Dropping the manila file onto his desk, Dr. Tenzen flops down onto his chair, a blank look on his face. He must say, after being in the medical profession for nearly 10 years, he's seen a lot of cases that leaves him scratching his head as to how the hell did this happen.

He thought he left all this behind when he transferred out of the emergency ward to practice as a doctor in a private hospital.

His morning shift was simple enough, but around lunchtime, he received a call from someone he hasn't seen for about four or five years, young master Kai Hiwatari. Of all the patients he's treated in his years, young Kai has to be his favorite. He stumbled across Kai when he was about 10 years-old. He just got into a fight with a group of teenagers who were picking on a disabled young boy in a wheel chair. Surprisingly, for someone so young and skinny, he won the fight with only a few cuts and bruises.

When he tried to treat the little spitfire of his injuries, Kai fought him every step of the way. He doesn't trust doctors; he blatantly told him so, suspicion blazing in his eyes. It took Tenzen a couple of weeks to find out the kids name, but gradually, after a lot of patience and gentle coaxing, he manages to gain the young child's trust.

And the kid managed to worm his way into his heart.

He'd do anything for this kid, and when he got the call that Kai has been feeling ill, he dropped all appointments he had this afternoon to see Kai. It was just lucky that he happened to be working at a hospital that is within a ten-minute bus ride from where Kai is staying.

Their reunion, and introduction to a dark haired teammate who accompanied him, was short as Tenzen wasted no time hurrying Kai in for a series of tests. He decided to do a series of quick tests and scans to cover all areas. He conducted blood tests, scans, x-rays, fluid samples, you name it.

After the tests, he sent the young master home with instructions to get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids, while he, himself, spends the rest of the afternoon and night conducting tests and investigating the reports he has.

Running a hand over his face, Tenzen picks up the folder and flips through it again. He managed to cross off a few potential suspects. He doesn't have cancer, or a virus. There's no fluid on the brain and he doesn't have blood poisoning.

But a scan over his abdomen revealed something that no human male has. It appears to be a womb.

Dizziness, fatigue, nausea, eating more than usually, finding some food a turn off, while eating food he has never tried before; it all makes sense now. And the test of his urine sample confirms it.

Kai appears to be pregnant.

Dropping the folder again, Tenzen leans over the table and pinches the bridge of his nose. He'll have to conduct more tests, but he's certain of it. There's nothing else wrong with him.

"Great," Tenzen mutters as he runs a hand through his hair again. "Here comes the hard part. Telling a healthy young male he's pregnant."

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Aw, poor Kai misses Hiro. Isn't that sweet? Next chapter; Kai learns the results. Stay tuned!

Please review.


	3. Prognosis: A Baby?

Reviews: Oh my goodness, a big thanks to; pheonix80, Mizuki hikari, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, sasukoi, chrono-contract, lilly, Kaz-za-15, Surrealtraversity, MintCa, the Light Shadow, Painted Ys, Lhune, Thegoldenlock, OnlyNotReally, Blaze Queenie, shininglake, BloodRedViolet, Rapunzelle, Tenshi of Freedom, storm05, DancerInTheDark101, XxSweet MitsukaixX, Nameless Little Girl, .EverLastingFun., Destiny Kitty, NapoleonDaGreat, Melissa and pelepirate for all taking the time to review! –_glomps_-

Reviews makes Gypsy a happy girl X3 Please enjoy the latest chapter!

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**Chapter 3:**

**Prognosis: A Baby?**

Gripping the end of his bed with white knuckles; Kai tries to swallow a lump of nervousness that has made its way into his throat. He is sitting in the spare bedroom of the Granger's dojo, having to spend the night here. After returning from seeing Tenzen with Ray, Gramps insisted that he stay here for the night once again. He said because the hospital is closer, but Kai knows it's so they can keep a closer eye on him.

It's not every day your invincible and badass captain faints, is it?

Despite his current circumstances, it was nice seeing Tenzen again. He hasn't changed a bit, which is good. He still remembers the first day he met the aqua haired doctor. He didn't trust him at first, experience has taught him not to trust doctors and most adults, but he was persistent. And not to mention very patient. He tried every afternoon after his shift at the hospital to seek him out just to check up on his well being and to see if he was getting enough to eat. If he wasn't he would get him something. Something packaged, to silently prove to him that he wasn't trying to drug him or anything.

Tenzen was nice, patient and honest, characteristics at that time Kai has never seen in an adult. It was a nice change to say the least.

He'd grown to trust Tenzen, even seeking him out whenever he received an injury. Tenzen proved to be a very trustworthy person, even going as far as not recording any of his injuries to the medical database.

Kai clutches his stomach when he starts to feel a little queasy, this time fighting down the need to throw up whatever food he has in his stomach. His brow knots in a form of discomfort as he presses his hand flat against his stomach, biting the inside of his mouth as he silently counts to ten, trying his best to calm himself.

He doesn't know why he's feeling so ill; he probably has a stomach bug. Or maybe it's just food poisoning from Tyson's cooking attempts the other night.

Holding a hand to his forehead, Kai can't help but recall a time where Hiro got sick and he had to watch over him. It was just a fever, but it knocked him out for the majority of the night. He looked so cute when he was sick with a dark flush marring his cheeks, even though Kai felt bad about thinking like that. But it doesn't make it any less true.

Lying back down onto the bed, Kai stares up at the ceiling, feeling nostalgic as the memories of Hiro and their one special, but reckless night together haunt him like ghosts of the past. He misses that arrogant coach; more then he thought he would. He has always had a soft spot for him, and their night together was amazing, but Kai knew before hand that Hiro was going to leave.

He knows it was silly, but a part of him hoped that after their night together Hiro would stay. But that would have been wrong of him to do that. Hiro is a wanderer and loves his freedom more than anything else. Asking Hiro to stay would have been like ripping the wings of a butterfly. It just wouldn't be fair.

Even so, his heart won't seem to stop longing for him. Hopefully, his little field trip won't take that long.

Rolling over to his side, Kai buries his face into his pillow, squeezing his eyes shut to try and prevent more bittersweet memories from resurfacing; they're making him feel all chocked up. Maybe that's what's wrong with him. He's just love sick.

Pft, how cliché is that?

Nuzzling his cheek into his pillow, Kai releases a sigh as fatigue suddenly washes over him. It's still early, not even dark outside yet, so a couple of hours of sleep wouldn't hurt. "I'll get up in a minute," Kai murmurs to himself before promptly falling to sleep.

The shrill noise of his phone ringing in his ear jolts Kai from his slumber. With bleary eyes he glances around the room, searching for his phone. He swipes it off the table and glances at the clock. It's 10 am in the morning! He wasn't planning on sleeping that long!

"Hello?" Kai asks into the phone, his head starting to thump loudly from being awoken so suddenly and sleeping in so late.

"Kai, it's me."

"Tenzen," Kai mutters as he flops down onto the bed, an arm moving to lie over his eyes. "Have you finished all those tests?"

"Yes," Tenzen replies, sounding a little reluctant, causing Kai to sit up in bed. "I think you should come to the hospital."

Fear and nerves make their presence know in Kai's chest and he can feel his heart skip a beat. He doesn't like the tone of his voice. "What is it?" he asks as he licks his lips, trying his best to control his rapidly beating heart. For as long as he has known Tenzen, he has always been to the point kind of guy. So this reluctance from him is new…and unnerving.

"I really think it's best that I tell you in person," Tenzen stresses, trying his best to use his doctor authority voice, but failing as he has an emotional and personal attachment to Kai. "It's complicated."

Kai swallows thickly and nods, even though Tenzen can't see it. "I'll…be there as soon as I can."

After Kai shuts off his phone, he seems to fall into this automatic, robotic trance. The events of getting dressed, by passing his concerned teammates, turning down their offers to accompany him and boarding the bus feels like a dream. Like he's on automatic pilot. It isn't until he hears a familiar voice call out to him does Kai snap out of his trance like state and realize he's already at the hospital, the trip here a complete blur.

"Kai," a familiar aqua haired male appears in Kai's line of vision, a smile on his face, but Kai knows it's only fake, trying to put him at ease.

It doesn't work.

Wrapping his arms tighter around his slender frame, Kai gives the good doctor a pointed look. "So, what's so important that you couldn't tell me over the phone?"

"Come to my office and I'll explain everything," Tenzen says as he drops the smile and runs a hand through his hair. He suddenly narrows his eyes when he notices subtle bags under Kai's eyes. He emits a soft sigh and moves to wrap an arm around Kai's shoulders, leading him further into the hospital and towards his office.

Inside the room, it's unlike most doctors' surgeries. There are no posters on the wall, no diagrams of the human intestines, no charts listing an array of symptoms you might have but don't know about. It looks like a regular office; warm furniture, subtle paint on the walls, a few filing cabinets and a large oak desk with sofa like chairs in front of it.

Kai lets Tenzen lead him over to a chair before sitting down and rubbing his upper arms with his hands, a shiver racing through his body from the nervousness he is currently feeling. He just wishes Tenzen would blurt out what's wrong with him already. He can take it.

Ok, probably not. But it's better than dancing around the issue.

Walking over to his side of the desk, Tenzen picks up a folder and sits down. "First up, I want you to know that you have no life threatening diseases; you have no sign of cancer, your blood pressure is a little higher than I would like, but that's to be expected with all the stress you are under. You're underweight, but that can be –and will be- fixed. You have a clean bill of health."

A look of complexity with a tinge of annoyance appears on Kai's face. "That's it?" he asks. "Why couldn't you tell me that over the phone?"

"I'm not done," Tenzen says as he flips open the folder and pulls out a scan he took on Kai's abdomen. He takes to his feet and walks over to the window, holding the x-ray up towards the light so Kai can see the images. "Come here, I want you to see this to truly understand what's happening to you."

The cloud of confusion grows thicker as Kai does what he is told, taking to his feet slowly as not to cause any unnecessary dizzy spells. The room gives a small spin, but Kai is able to snap himself out of the light headedness fairly quickly. He walks over to the window and stands next to the just under six foot tall doctor.

"What am I looking at?" he asks, looking at the scan. His eyes suddenly narrow when he notices a large white smear on the scan. "What is this suppose to tell me about my symptoms?"

"When you have one of these," Tenzen says as he points to the very same white spot Kai is staring at in suspicion. "The symptoms are completely normal for the condition you're in."

"I don't understand," Kai mutters as he looks at the x-ray before turning to stare desperately into a pair of apple green eyes. He furrows his brow in confusion with mild irritation. "What is this?"

"I have to admit," Tenzen says as he takes a deep breath, readying himself as he points to the rather large anomaly on the x-ray again. "This is the first time I've seen a male carry one of these."

"Cut the crap," Kai finally snaps, intense annoyance making its way into his chest at how Tenzen seems to be skirting around telling him the truth. "Just tell me what the hell is happening to me. What the hell is that white thing?"

Tenzen gives Kai a hard stare. "It's a womb."

"A what?" Kai asks, unsure if he heard right.

"A womb," Tenzen repeats sympathy and understanding now underlying in his voice. "And it appears that you are, well…pregnant."

Eyes widening in disbelief and fright, Kai snaps his gaze to Tenzen and then back to the x-ray. He does this a couple of times, his mouth open in an expression of shock as he tries his best to get his head around this new pieces of information. Suddenly, Kai feels his knees go weak and his eyes roll to the back of his head and a second later, everything goes black.

"Kai?" a familiar voice drifts through the darkness. "Come on now, I need you to wake up."

Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, a groan of discomfort passes Kai's lips as he finds himself wading through the thick darkness, his world starting to become a little brighter. Straining his sight against the blinding lights that seem to engulf him, Kai opens his eyes to once again find someone leaning over him, a hand on his wrist checking for his pulse. But instead of a certain dark haired teammate, his vision greets him with the figure of a certain aqua haired doctor.

Suddenly, memories of their previous conversation inundate Kai's mind and he immediately shoots up into a sitting position, regretting it a second later as his vision and mind goes funny.

"Easy, Kai," Tenzen says with a light scowl in his voice as he forces Kai to lie back down on the bed. "We can't have you fainting again."

"You're not serious?" Kai mutters after a moment, staring up at the doctor with wide and fearful eyes as he grasps weakly onto his arm. "Please tell me you're not serious."

A look of agonized sympathy appears on Tenzen's face, looking as if he wants to reassure the young man, but knows that there is no way they can deny something like this. "I would like to conduct an ultrasound to prove my theory, but all signs point to you being pregnant. I'm really sorry, but there isn't anything else I can tell you at this point."

Turning his gaze to stare blankly up at the ceiling, Kai falls limp, feeling as if this whole thing is a dream he can wake up from. "How can this happen?" he asks in a voice barely above a whisper. Everyone knows that men can't have babies, unless…

"Oh, shit…" Kai suddenly mutters, his face paling even more then what would be considered healthy.

More memories of the past resurface fresh in Kai's mind. He doesn't recall much of the Abbey, as it was a traumatic experience for someone so young, but he does recall something called a "Breeding Program".

Both Boris and Voltaire were extremely sexist, not that it's much of a surprise to anyone. They believed that females were weak and aren't good for anything. Unfortunately, they are good for one thing –in their eyes- and that was breeding. But there was no way in hell they were going to let any female set foot inside the abbey. But they needed more kids to train into solders. So they came up with a plan –a sick, twisted and highly immoral plan- to make artificial wombs and transplant them into physically strong male bladers.

Could it be possible that Kai was one of those kids chosen for this act against God?

"Kai?" Tenzen's voice pulls him from his thoughts, concern evident clearly.

"What do I do now?" Kai asks, his voice soft and small.

* * *

Aw, poor Kai-Kai fainted –_huggles him_- He's got some explaining to do in the next chapter X3

And remember; Don't kill me! -_hides_-

Please review.


	4. Pregnant With His Child

Reviews: X3 Nyah, thanks so much to; FlyingShadow666, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Blaze Queenie, sweetylulu, Elves of the Moon, Painted Ys, Tenshi of Freedom, Rapunzelle, OnlyNotReally, Nameless Little Girl, pheonix80, the Light Shadow, dragonlilly1993, setsuko teshiba and Taijiya Mizu for reviewing!

And here we are, the chapter you've been waiting for! I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 4:**

**Pregnant With His Child**

With the folder that contains his x-rays held tightly to his chest, Kai slips silently out of the taxi Tenzen insisted he'd pay for. As any good doctor, he refused the let the teen that is clearly in a state of shock anywhere near public transport. The possibility to miss his stop, accidentally engage in a confrontation with someone and to faint again were too strong to ignore.

He didn't say a single word for the entire trip, merely sat in the back clutching the evidence of his condition in his arms. He stared blankly at the floor, appearing as though he was in a trance. He heard the driver say a few words, but he couldn't find the strength to pull himself out of his confusion to answer him.

He's pretty sure the driver must think of him as some kind of a weirdo. He has no idea how right he is.

Handing the money over to the driver he quickly turns around and gazes up at the entrance of the dojo, a suddenly feeling of fear taking hold. He has to tell them what's happening with him. He has to tell them everything. His night with Hiro, his past in the abbey he doesn't quite remember.

It's a little scary. What will they say? Will they understand or will they throw him out for being the freak he is?

Kai can feel his fear rise at that thought. What if they do push him away? What will he do then? He can't handle this unexpected pregnancy all by himself. He might have Tenzen as his doctor, but he really needs the support of his friends. He's never admitted it to anyone before, but he really relies on his teammates. He has no other relatives so they're his family now.

With a shaky hand, Kai moves to open the front door, almost jumping out of his skin when it opens to its own accord. Suddenly, a tall man with unruly brown hair and kind chocolate brown eyes appears in front of him.

"Bruce?" Kai stutters in disbelief, a look of surprise on his face at seeing Tyson and Hiro's father.

"Kai," Bruce smiles at him, mentally noting how much he's grown over the last few years. In fact, everyone on the team has. He hasn't seen them for a good three years. "I heard you haven't been feeling well. How did the doctor's visit turn out?"

Kai freezes to the spot, his face turning a shade paler and his eyes glazing over a little as he stares blankly forward.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asks with concern, finding Kai's unresponsive nature a little startling. He places a hand on his shoulder, making him look at him with his ruby red eyes that seem to be shimmering with unshed tears. "Kai, what is it?"

Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps reaches Kai's ears and he realizes that everyone must be waiting for him to hear the results. Everyone is here for him, but when he tells him, will they remain by his side?

"Kai?" Ray is the first person who reaches him and is immediately hovering by his side, his amber eyes looking at him in blatant concern. He could swear to the heavens above that Kai is far more paler than he was this morning. "What did he say?"

"Yeah," the others chorus around him, all looking at him in concern.

"Are you going to be ok?" Max asks, staring at him with his expressive baby blue eyes.

"I…" Kai suddenly bows his head, his chin touching his chest and his shoulders begin to tremble. It takes Bruce and the others a moment to realize that the once aloof teen is now crying. "I don't think I'm ok…"

Without a second thought, Ray wraps his arms around Kai's trembling frame and holds him against his chest. Kai simply lets the neko hold him, feeling overwhelmed by everything. The way he can't seem to control his feelings, the knowledge that his life will never be the same again and the prospect that he might have to face being a man pregnant all by himself. Unable to keep in all in, Kai begins to silently cry into Ray's chest, the concerned voices of his fellow teammates and two adults falls on deaf ears. The need to sleep overtakes him and he closes his eyes, hoping dearly that this whole ordeal is nothing but a dream.

For the third time in many hours, Kai finds himself wading through the darkness of his sleep-hazed mind. He lingers in consciousness and unconsciousness for a moment or two, not wanting to wake to the reality of his life at the moment, but when he feels something soft and wet touch his forehead, he is unable to stop a groan from passing his lips.

He fainted…again. After he started sobbing. The others are probably hysterical right about now.

Opening his eyes, Kai resists the urge to groan again when he sees yet another male hovering over him in concern. This time it's Bruce, his usually gentle expression pulled into a look of concern with a hint of confusion.

"Kai?" He asks when he sees that he is awake. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Silently, Kai places a hand on his stomach and swallows thickly when he suddenly realizes that there is a living being, a small piece of Hiro, growing inside him. Not only will this child be his, his connection with Hiro, but also Bruce's grandchild and Gramps' great grandchild.

They have to know. Surely, they won't abandon their own flesh and blood?

Slowly, Kai sits up, still tenderly holding his stomach. He turns to face Bruce and swallows thickly. "I want to tell everyone, ok?"

"Sure," Bruce replies as he helps the now delicate teen up off the bed and leading him out of the room. "They're worried sick about you."

"I'm sorry," Kai replies softly, gripping a little tighter on his stomach. "Where is the folder I had?"

"It's in the lounge room," Bruce tells him. "But we didn't look at it."

Kai gives a small sigh of relief, knowing even if they did look at it, they'd be confused as hell. As they approach the lounge room, familiar voices drift through the walls causing Kai to give an almost invisible sad smile.

"Leave the thing alone, Tyson," Hilary orders, her voice high with frustration. "That belongs to Kai. We shouldn't look at it. It will most likely have personal information on it."

"I know that," Tyson snaps back, no doubt giving her this pained look of annoyance. "That's why we should look at it."

"I don't think we should," Kenny points out and even though Kai can't see him at the moment, he can just imagine the young brunette playing with his glasses like he always does. "We probably wouldn't understand what's in there anyway."

"Let's just wait for Kai to wake up," Ray's calm voice rings out through the room. "I'm sure he will tell us when he's ready."

"I hope he's ok," Max says with a sigh, causing Kai's chest to tightening at the obvious concern.

Placing his hand on the door, Kai slides it open and meekly steps inside, feeling a hint of embarrassment about his earlier behavior, but mostly he feels apprehensive about what's to come. Hopefully he can do this without breaking down again.

"Hey," Kai murmurs, unsure of what else to say.

"Kai!" the room seems to explode with movement as several teens nearly crush into him in their haste to reach him. While they ask a million and one different questions in rapid fire concession, Ray tries to pull them all back, being the one to notice how pale and fearful the enigma is looking at the moment.

"Back off the K-man, ya dig?!" Gramps loud voice immediately stops the mini riot, causing everyone, even Bruce to slink back a little.

"Sorry," the teens mutter as he slowly step away, but continue to send looks of concern in Kai's direction.

Walking over to the table in the middle of the room, Kai sits down in front of his folder. He lifts a hand and places it on the folder, subconsciously playing with the corner as he gathers his nerves.

This isn't going to be easy.

"Before I start, I want everyone to promise me that they won't say a thing until after I'm finished, ok?" Kai asks, risking a quick glance to everyone in the room.

Tyson opens his mouth to protest, but Max merely covers him up with his hand. "We promise, Kai," he says, also turning his eyes to everyone, smiling slightly when he sees them all nod in agreement.

"Here goes," Kai says softly to himself as he takes a deep breath and averts his gaze to the table in front of him, trying his best to ignore all the gazes that are staring at him. "It's started when I was in the Abbey. I don't remember much of my time there, just bits and pieces."

"Which is probably for the best," Kai hears Ray mutter under his breath and finds himself nodding in agreement.

"You probably wouldn't know this, but sometimes Boris and Voltaire liked to conduct some experiments," Kai says, a low growl in his voice, his eyes narrowing a little. "A hobby, I suppose you can call it. One experiment was tactilely known as 'Breeding'."

"I thought the Abbey was a boys only kind of thing?" Kenny comments before he has a chance to reconsider. He suddenly eeps and hides behind his laptop when everyone looks at him. "Sorry," he squeaks.

"It's ok," Kai replies, still keeping in gaze on the table. "Yes, the place was filled with only males. Boris was –and still is- a sexist pig. He believes females are completely worthless and wouldn't even let one step foot inside the Abbey."

"So, how does this breeding program work?" Bruce asks, a horrified look slowly creeping onto his face.

Kai's breathe hitches in his throat as he pauses for a moment. "They…created artificial wombs and transplanted them into the bodies of a few specially selected bladers."

Sounds of utter disbelief and horror echo around the room, causing Kai to grip the table tightly with his hands. Humiliation, anger, fear and disbelief grips Kai's body as he tries his best not to break down again. This is too much, even for someone like him.

"But Kai," Max's voice silences the room. "What does this have to do with you being sick?"

An uncomfortable silence overtakes the entire room and Kai can feel several sets of eyes staring at him, making his heart fall into the pit of his stomach. "I was one of the few chosen," he mutters, bowing his head forward to cover his eyes with his hair. He suddenly clenches his hands into fists and make a rash decision to tell everyone his condition as short and as blunt as he can. He's already stalled for long enough.

"And I'm pregnant," he says with a stern voice. "And the kid is Hiro's."

Complete and utter silence reigns supreme, the only sound Kai can hear is his heart thundering loud in his chest. So fast is his heart beating, he fears he might pass out again.

"What?!" Tyson suddenly cries out, his tone sounding like a mixture of disbelief, shock and an unhealthy dose of anger. He crosses the room and slams his hands on the table, snapping everyone out of their shock. "What do you mean you're pregnant with Hiro's kid? Is this some kind of a sick joke?"

Kai merely keeps his head down as he opens the folder, pulling out a scan of his abdomen and taps his finger on the large white organ. "The scan doesn't lie," he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry."

Tyson picks up the x-ray and stares at it, his face oddly blank. "You slept with Hiro?"

Kai physically winces at the question but nods. "It was just a reckless one night thing," he replies, embarrassment heavy in his voice. His body suddenly grows tense when he feels tears trying to break the barrier of his eyes lashes. This is so embarrassing…

"Why would you sleep with my brother?" Tyson suddenly asks, anger with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"I'm so sorry," he says suddenly, bowing his head almost violently, releasing a few tears from his eyes. "I had no idea something like this would happened, if I'd known…"

"That's enough!"

Kai immediately tenses, biting his bottom lip to stop himself from crying even more. Here it comes, he's going to be kicked off the team, blacklisted from the dojo and condemned to a life where he has to go through this pregnancy alone.

Suddenly, Kai snaps his head up when he feels a comforting hand on his shoulder. A tear rolls down his cheek when he looks at the hand and notices that it belongs to one Bruce Granger. The brown haired man gives him a comforting smile, no anger in his gaze whatsoever.

"It's ok," he says, causing Kai's breathe to hitch in his throat again. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. You're a capable young man who is more than capable of making his own decisions. If you say you're pregnant with Hiro's child, then I believe you."

"You…?" Kai finds himself stuttering softly in disbelief, an expression of feeling utterly lost on his face. "You're not going to abandon me?"

"Listen here, little dude," Gramps suddenly says as he points at Kai with his kendo stick, a stern look on his face, but a hint of a smile on his lips. "You're a part of this family whether you like it or not. And the fact that you can give birth does little to change that. Now, you're going to be moving in here with us during the pregnancy and afterwards. There is no way we're going to turn out back on our own flesh and blood."

Kai stares at him in disbelief at the words his said and the fact he said them normally, none of that gramps speak he's gotten used to. He turns to look at Bruce who simply smiles at him and nods. "This is no doubt a scary time for you but you won't face it alone."

"He's right," Ray suddenly speaks up as he moves to kneel by Kai's side. "None of this is your fault. You can't help the cards fate has dealt for you. And they certainly won't stop us from being there for you."

Swallowing thickly, Kai offers a small smile when he feels even more tears appear in his eyes. He casts a quick glance around the room, his gaze lingering on each one of his teammates. He sees a sense of shock, but also a sense of determination. They want to see him through this, regardless of how much of a surprise it is.

"Thank you," Kai murmurs as he hastily rubs at his eyes.

"Duuuuuuddee," Tyson suddenly mutters as he takes his gaze away from the x-ray. "I'm going to be an uncle, aren't I?"

* * *

Whew, chapter done. A bit emotional, wasn't it? Kai was probably OOC (I don't need to be told X3) but when a male finds out he's pregnant because of an experiment that happened to him when he was a kid, he'd be freaking out. Seriously.

Please review.


	5. Quite a Bit of Information

Reviews: Squee! Thank you so much for reviewing! dragonfire7654321, pheonix80, loner7803, Destiny Kitty, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, MintCa, Surrealtraversity, Vina Eldest Siren of Fire, sweetylulu, grey-shadow-horse, Miako6, Rapunzelle, the Light Shadow, OnlyNotReally, Tenshi of Freedom, marishka91, Nameless Little Girl, Kaz-za-15, Painted Ys, Blaze Queenie, black angel falling and DarkBombayAngel, thank you all very much! –_glomps_-

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

**Quite a Bit of Information**

Flopping down onto his new bed, in his new room, at his new place of residency, Kai sighs softly to himself as he nuzzles his cheek into his pillow. The stress of the last few hours finally catching up with him and after reassuring his teammates and the Granger's, Kai decides to spend a few hours to himself in his room. He has a lot to think about, probably a little too much. But, thankfully, a heavy burden of how his 'family' will react to his situation is now gone from his shoulders.

It went way better than he had expected. He expected a lot of yelling, cursing and maybe even a threat or two, but nothing like that happened at all. Tyson seemed a little annoyed with him at the beginning, but that's understandable after learning that his Beyblade captain slept with his older brother. It's enough to get under anyone's skin.

But thankfully, he mellowed out when he realized that he's going to be an uncle. At 16 years old.

And Kai is going to be a parent at 17 years of age, and Hiro is…

At the mention of Hiro's name, Kai feels his heart slowly begin to sink. Hiro is the father of his child, but he has no idea where he is and he can't seem to be reached. Kenny and Gramps are trying to work out where the wayward coach could be and send a message out to him to come home as soon as he can. Kai was reluctant at first, as he doesn't want to disrupt Hiro's adventure, but at the same time, wants him to come home just so he can accuse him for knocking him up like this.

Stupid Hiro, why does he have to be so bloody handsome and charming that Kai just can't say no to him?

A sigh passes Kai's lips. No, he can't pin the blame on him, it's as much as his fault as it is Hiro's. It's a two way street. It takes two to tango, so to speak.

A soft knock at his bedroom door pulls Kai from his musings. "Who is it?" he asks as he rolls over in bed.

The door opens, revealing a certain brown hair male. "How are you feeling?" Bruce asks as he steps into the room.

Kai pauses for a moment, silently trying to assess his current state. "I'm ok," he says after a moment, answering truthfully. "I think."

A smile graces Bruce's lips as he takes a seat on a chair near the bed. "It must've been a shock when you found out."

Kai is unable to stop a warily smile from appearing on his lips. "I fainted."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Bruce says as he chuckles before turning serious. "This doctor you went to, is he…?"

"He's completely trustworthy," Kai replies quickly and firmly, hoping to put the older man's fears at ease. "I've known him for years."

"That's good to know," Bruce says, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

A feeling of warmth fills Kai's being when he realizes just how much everyone seems to be worrying about him. He knows that he being pregnant is a shock, but they generally seemed to be concerned for his well being.

He can't help but wonder…will he make an ok parent to this little life growing inside him?

"…Bruce?"

"Hmm?"

Tenderly, Kai places a hand on his stomach, uncertainly shimmering in his eyes. "Do you think I'll be a good father?"

Bruce's gaze immediately softens when he realizes how unsure and scared Kai is at the moment. "I think you'll make a great father."

"I'm…a little scared, you know?" Kai whispers softly, turning his gaze elsewhere.

"That's completely understandable," Bruce is quick to reassure, his own fatherly instincts kicking in at the sound of the fear in Kai's voice. "This is a life changing thing; no one can ever be fully prepared for it. But if anyone can make it through this, it's you."

A small blush makes its way onto Kai's cheeks and he gives him a bashful look. "You're just saying that."

Bruce simply smiles at him. "No, I mean that."

"Are you ok with this?" Kai suddenly asks, giving him a dole eye gaze. "Answer me honestly."

"Honestly?" Bruce repeats as he takes a deep breath. "It's a surprised to say the least, but it can't be helped. This is just a part of nature, there's no point in denying the truth." He smiles when he sees an expression of genuine gratitude appear on the enigma's face and he suddenly gives him a stern look. "But I must say, I'm a little disappointed that you thought we would abandon you just like that."

"Sorry," Kai murmurs, suddenly feeling very sleepy. "But I've been abandoned a few times before. It's a fear I have."

"Don't worry about it," Bruce is quite to respond. "As I said, it's understandable that you are feeling scared at the moment."

Kai sleepily nuzzles his cheek into his pillow. "Do you think I'll really be ok?"

"You're a part of this family as much as Hiro is," Bruce says as he climbs to his feet, intending on leaving the room to allow the enigma to get some much needed sleep. "And I'm not saying that just because you're pregnant with my future grandchild."

"I bet you didn't think you'd be a grandparent so soon," Kai suddenly comments, earning him a laugh from the older man.

"Not really," Bruce chuckles. "But truthfully I can't wait. I'm sure my father can't wait to be a great grandparent."

"You know?" Kai murmurs softly. "This kid is going to be very lucky, having grandparents like you."

"He's very lucky to have a parent like you looking after him," Bruce quickly points out.

Kai smiles softly and appears ready to fall asleep. He feels a little lighter now, like everything will turn out for the best. He has great friends, a family he can call his own. There is just one little thing hampering this moment of joy, the father of his child isn't here…

"Have you managed to get a hold of Hiro yet?" Kai suddenly asks, causing Bruce to pauses at his bedroom door.

Bruce gives him a hesitant look, but sighs in defeat, knowing that there is no point in skirting around the issue. "No, we have idea where he is. He could be anywhere in that god forsaken desert."

Kai gives another sigh of disappointment. "I have an appointment tomorrow," he suddenly murmurs. "Do you think you could give me a lift?"

"Of course I can," Bruce says as he steps out into the hallway. "Get some rest. Goodnight."

"Night," Kai murmurs before he quickly falls asleep.

-------------------

Wrinkling his nose at the overly pungent smell of disinfectant, Kai approaches the front desk to inform the nurse there that he is here to see Tenzen, Bruce not far behind him. He's interested in meeting this Tenzen, the man who managed to gain Kai's confidence.

"Kai!" a familiar voice calls out, causing Kai to turn away from the desk and glance up the main hallway, watching as his aqua haired doctor make his way over to him, a couple of folders in his hands. "Glad you could make it," he says, with a hint of relief in his voice. He suddenly looks to the side of Kai and his gaze immediately collides with that of Bruce's. "Oh, and who…?"

"Bruce Granger," Bruce greets as he thrusts out his hand to shake and Tenzen gladly takes up the offer. "He's going to be staying with us for a while. I just gave him a lift here, as I didn't want him to catch the bus by himself."

"That's good to hear," Tenzen says cheerfully, smiling at the slightly older man. "So you're aware of what's going on?"

"Yes, Kai explained it as best he could last night," Bruce replies, casting a quick glance in the enigma's direction, the corner of his mouth twitching into a small smile when he sees the blatant embarrassment on Kai's face. "I'll wait out in the waiting room until you're done, ok Kai?" he asks as he faces the teen.

"Thank you."

"There won't be any tests today," Tenzen explains to both Kai and Bruce. "Just an information session."

"Good," Kai inwardly breathes a sigh of relief as he allows Tenzen to lead him to his office.

"Ok," Tenzen says after he securely closes the door and walks over to his desk, waiting until Kai takes a seat. "I need to ask a few questions and I want honest answers. Don't be embarrassed or shy, remember this is me you're talking, ok?"

"Sure," Kai murmurs again as he perches on the edge of his seat, wrapping his arms around himself as a sense of nervousness sets in.

"When was the last time you had sex?" Tenzen asks, deciding that the blunt approach is best at this point in time.

"A few weeks ago," Kai replies, a heating sensation making its presence known on his cheeks.

Tenzen nods and writes it down in a folder sitting in front of him. "First time?"

"Yes."

Again, more scribbling. "How many times do you orgasm?"

"Doctor!" Kai splutters loudly with indignity, the blush on his cheeks growing even more prudent on his pale cheeks.

"I need to know," Tenzen says calmly, but Kai gets the distinct feeling that he is inwardly laughing at his reaction. "We're both grownups here."

Kai glares at his personal doctor, an expression of utter embarrassment on his face. "…Once…twice…Ok, four times, you happy now?!" he cries as he practically bashes his head against the desk in front of him.

"There's no need to be embarrassed," Tenzen says, a hint of amusement in his voice, although he is trying hard to cover it with a firm doctor's voice. "Now, let's talk about how you managed to become pregnant."

Kai rolls his head to the side and glares at him again as Tenzen climbs to his feet and pulls out an x-ray. "Why?"

Tenzen shrugs as he holds the scan against the window, illuminating it. "In case you want a sibling for your future kid," he says before turning to the x-ray and pointing at it. "Anyway, I've studied the scans and tests I conducted the other day and found that a small valve opens when you become overly stimulated, i.e., having several orgasms in a row or a very short period of time."

Kai wraps his arms around his head, wanting nothing more than to crawl into a hold and die. "I cannot believe I'm having this conversation with you…"

"You are able to generate your own eggs within the womb," Tenzen carries, choosing to ignore the uncomfortable teen. "But will only produce one at a time. You don't have periods like your female counterparts, which is rather fortunate for you."

"Good God…" Kai whines into his hands.

"After this pregnancy, another egg will form days later where it will wait in the womb to be fertilized," Tenzen then removes the x-ray and places it into a folder once again. "Of course, I can't be sure of this. This is all theory at the moment. Do you have any questions?"

The first question that immediately springs to mind is whether he can leave now. This is highly embarrassing and doesn't wish for it to be carried out longer than necessary. Suddenly, an imagine to that one reckless night two weeks ago pops into his mind's eye and remembers that during the night, after an reaching the pinnacle of pleasure, he started to softly cry tears. They weren't from pain, or even remote discomfort. In fact, the only thing he felt that entire night was pleasure.

So, he doesn't the sudden tears. He's going to have to ask. Gwad, could this be any more embarrassing? He's just lucky Bruce decided to wait outside. He'd just die from humiliation if he was sitting in on this.

"Just one really embarrassing question," Kai murmurs as he slowly lifts his head up off the desk. "Um, after each…orgasm, I started crying. Why is that?"

"Oh, that's normal," Tenzen quickly replies, waving a dismissive hand at him. "You're just releasing pent up emotions. It happens to most people who experience an intense orgasm and you should be pleased that you can experience such emotions."

"Ok…Can I go now?" Kai asks, looking a little too pale once again. "I think I've had more than enough information to dwell over. I don't think I'll get any sleep tonight…"

Tenzen offers him a small smile as he climbs to his feet. "I'll walk you out," he offers, taking Kai by the arm and helping him out of his seat and back towards the living room.

Bruce notices them straight away and quickly climbs out of the waiting room chair and meets them half way. "All finished?" he asks, then frowns when he notices that Kai is looking a little sickly and uncomfortable. "Is there something wrong?"

"He's fine," Tenzen replies with a smile, slapping Kai on the back as the teen gives a squeak of discomfort. "I just had to re-explain the birds and the bees to him."

"I see." Both men laugh while Kai continues to look sick.

This pregnancy is going to be hell!

* * *

X3 Poor Kai. Things just keep better and better for him, doesn't it?

Please review.


	6. Patchwork Family

Reviews: Oh my goodness, over one hundred reviews in only five chapters! Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to review; Surrealtraversity, DarkBombayAngel, Taijiya Mizu, Vina Eldest Siren of Fire, dragonfire7654321, Secret Thought, marishka91, MintCa, the Light Shadow, Rapunzelle, Apothos, sweetylulu, Kaz-za-15, Miako6, NapoleonDaGreat, Painted Ys, pheonix80, OnlyNotReally, Nameless Little Girl, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Tenshi of Freedom, kit572 and Blaze Queenie!! Thanks so much!

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**Chapter 6:**

**Patchwork Family**

Sitting on the large sofa chair, Kai places his hand on his pregnant stomach. It's almost hard to believe that more than eight months have already passed. He looks like he can give birth any day now and it's put everyone on edge. Although, they are nervous, they are also excited. There's going to be a baby in the house soon.

They've grown up a lot during the last few months. Tyson doesn't nag him as much as he use to do and has even stopped boasting about being the best blader in the world. Daichi as well has quieted down. He's not as loud as he used to be, well in front of him, anyway. When he faces Tyson in a beybattle, their voices still seem to echo through the neighborhood.

The pregnancy wasn't as bad as he thought it would have been; he expected killer morning sickness for the next nine months, uncontrollable eating and his mood swinging like a pendulum. Those were his symptoms, don't get him wrong, but they weren't as bad as he thought they would be.

Hilary is absolutely ecstatic about the up and coming birth. She even went out and bought some baby clothes and baby toys. Kai can already tell this little one is going to be spoilt rotten. And so be it. Kai didn't have the best childhood, so he's going to darn well sure his child will.

Max and Ray have changed very little, but that's because they've always been two of the mature bladers on this team. Max is still his bright and happy self, helping to successfully pull Kai out of his dark moods when he was still suffering from morning sickness.

Ray is also very helpful towards him in his current state. But there's seems to be something troubling the neko, Kai can just tell. He seems like he's hiding something important and appears to be torn, especially when he looks at Kai's pregnant stomach.

Kai makes a mental note to speak with the neko later.

The Grangers, Bruce and Gramps, have been fantastic. This isn't the first time the dojo has seen a pregnancy and they are very understanding when it comes to Kai's dark moods and rapid mood swings. The two older men are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their grandchild.

"Being a parent is great, but being a grandparent is even better," Bruce said to him one day.

Oh yes, this child is going to be spoilt!

His pregnancy has been relatively hassle free, thank the heavens above. He sees Tenzen just about every second day and he even comes to the dojo for a visit, just to check the progress of his unborn baby. He has even managed to become quite a good friend with Bruce, the two often sitting down and talking about matters.

The last term of his pregnancy is the most critical and thank goodness it seems to be progressing smoothly. He has a healthy child growing within his artificial womb. Who would have thought Bio-volt was capable of creating something like this?

There is one design flaw, though, and knowing Bio-volt, they did it on purpose. These is no choice of a natural birth, the only way to bring this child into the world safely and without killing Kai in the process is for a cesarean. The womb is located in front of his organs and between the muscles of his stomach. After the operation, he's going to need a lot of down time for the muscles and the cut to heal.

Someone suggested that someone else takes care of his child while he heals, and Kai immediately thought of Hiro. But that only made him angry and bitter. Hiro isn't here, so he's going to have to be a single parent until he decides to come back.

Placing both hands over his stomach, Kai is unable to stop the swell of anger and bitter disappointment from arising in his chest. It's been a little under nine months since Hiro went on his cross desert voyage, but there hasn't been a word from him since. Nothing, not even a little message telling everyone that he's still alive and that he's doing ok.

The search for the wayward young man has dwindled in the last few months. Hiro's name is pretty much forbidden to say in front of Kai as he understandably becomes upset. Kai has spent many a night lying in bed, thinking about Hiro. Where he is now and whether or not he's fulfilling his dreams of adventure. He also feels torn. He knows Hiro sees life as an adventure and is always willing to try new things, but at the same time he wants Hiro to drop whatever it is that he's doing to come to him.

Hiro is the father of his child, he should be here dammit!

"No," Tyson's voice suddenly pulls Kai from his musings. "Part B fits into Part C."

A small smile appears on Kai's lips as he watches four of his teammates attempt to build a baby's crib to place in Kai's room for when the baby finally arrives. The crib comes with some assembly required and by looking at all the pieces and the expressions of utter bewilderment on his younger teammates' face, he isn't sure he wants this crib for his baby. He's tempted to go out and buy an already made one.

Max gives Tyson this perplex look as he holds up a piece of the puzzle. "This is part B."

"No," Tyson says quite firmly as he points to the unknown object in Max's hand. "That's part D."

Daichi scratches his little head as he picks up a random piece on the floor and looks at it like it might bite him. "What the hell is this one, then?"

"That's A," Tyson replies with a sharp nod of the head.

Ray is sitting in the corner of the room, scratching his head as he tries to make out the words on the instruction manual. "That isn't what the instructions say."

"Who cares?!" Tyson suddenly announces as he climbs to his feet and snatches the instructions from Ray's grip and replaces it with two random pieces instead. "They're always wrong anyway. Now, fit Part B in the Part A's hole."

Ray seems to bristle at the demand, clutching the two pieces with his hands. "I'll shove Part B into your a-hole if you don't stop bossing me around," he hisses.

Kai can't help but chuckle at his bickering teammates, watching as Tyson and Ray engage in a mock sword fight with a piece of the crib each, Max trying to calm then down and Daichi simply sitting on the floor and bashing two random pieces together in an attempt to get them to stick together. They never fail to put a small smile on his face when he needs it most. It's a distraction most welcomed in his current state.

Narrowing his eyes a little, Kai senses that Ray's annoyance is real. He seems to be in a bit of a foul mood, which is rather unusual for the lighthearted neko-jin. Maybe it has something to do with that letter he got this morning. It was from China, so maybe there's conflict back at home.

Watching as the neko gets up, Kai decides to follow him to find out the answers for himself. Struggling out of his chair, Kai climbs to his feet and follows his dark haired teammate into the kitchen.

"Ray," Kai says the moment he steps into the kitchen, almost making Ray jump out of his skin. "Is there something wrong back at home, Ray?" he asks, deciding to get straight to the point.

Ray presses his lips together, seemingly reluctant to tell Kai anything in fear that it might add more stress upon those already fragile shoulders of his. "You can say that," he murmurs, leaning back to rest against the kitchen bench behind him.

Kai nods his head slowly, seemingly understanding why the neko is reluctant, but at the same time, doesn't want him to brood by himself. If he is able to talk about his past and open up to everyone, then surely Ray can as well.

"What is it?" he asks softly as he moves further into the room and places a hand on the kitchen table for support, the other over his stomach, subconsciously protecting it.

Ray stares at Kai with his amber eyes in complete silence, a small expression of defiance on his face. But after an intense showdown with their gazes, Ray finally utters a small sigh of defeat and he looks off to the side. "They want me to come back home so I can get married and start a family."

"You're only 17 years old, though," Kai says, trying to ignore the fact that he is also a teenager and an unexpectedly pregnant one at that, but that's irrelevant to Ray's situation.

"In my village, that's the age you become a man," Ray mutters bitterly as he folds his arms over his chest and chooses to glare at a spot on the floor in front of him.

Kai sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Do you know who you're going to get married to?"

Ray's frown deepens a little more, but this time with a hint of guilt. "…It's Mariah."

"Mariah?" Kai repeats, a hint of surprise in his voice, even though a part of him is telling himself he shouldn't be. It's obvious to even the most brainless of fools that Mariah adores Ray, more than a friend or sisterly way.

"I don't love her that way, Kai," Ray says with a hint of frustration and desperation in his voice. "She's like a sister to me. I don't know what to do."

Kai gazes at Ray with a sympathetic gaze as Ray buries his face in his hands. His chest tightens a little when he realizes just how torn Ray is feeling and knows exactly where he is coming from. "You should do what you want to do."

"But, they're my family…" Ray murmurs as he lifts his head from his hands.

"A real family would not make you do something you don't want to do," Kai says quickly with a firm voice. "Look at me, Ray. I don't have any blood relatives, but I don't care. This is my family now, you, the Grangers, Max, Kenny, Hilary and yes, even Daichi are my family now."

Yes, his family. They may not be blood related, come from different back grounds and don't always get along, but they are his family. And he wouldn't trade them for the world. Yes, even Tyson and Daichi.

"I've done some pretty stupid things in my life," Kai continues, a hint of embarrassment in his face as he subconsciously rubs his stomach. "And yet you all stuck by me. If your family threatens to disown you, then they're not your real family."

Ray seems to mull over these words for a moment before a smile appears on his lips and he gives Kai a soft and warm gaze. "You're right," he says. "I've moved on from my village, haven't I?"

Kai simply smiles softly at him and nods his head while Ray returns the gesture with one of his own. Suddenly, Kai's brow knots in discomfort when an unknown sensation makes its presence known.

"Argh," Kai hisses as he buckles over, wrapping one arm around his stomach as the other grips onto the kitchen table with white knuckles. An uncomfortable sensation appears in his abdomen. It feels like his muscles are contracting and twitching. He must be having what Tenzen called contractions. His baby is coming.

Oh, crap…

"Kai!" Ray says in alarm and immediately makes his way to his side, hovering about unsure of what to do. "What's wrong?"

"Get Bruce," Kai mutters through clenched teeth. "I need to see Tenzen. I think its coming."

Ray's eyes widen and for a split second he doesn't move. But when he hears another hiss pass Kai's lips he bolts out of the kitchen and through the dojo, looking for his elder. "Bruce! Quick! We need to get Kai to the hospital!"

A small cry passes Kai's lips as he tries to keep himself on his feet and not to slip onto the floor. Mildly aware of the voices around him, Kai chooses to ignore them for the time being and concentrate on his breathing. Even when he feels an arm slip around his shoulders and practically lift him up off the ground, Kai still isn't thinking about anything else but to keep taking deep breathes.

The only thing Kai is aware of is mild pain and the feeling that something is desperately trying to make its way out of his stomach. He doesn't remember the mad dash to the hospital or Bruce carefully carrying him inside the hospital through the back entrance, or being set down on a hospital bed. The last thing he remembers is looking up at Tenzen as he places an oxygen mask over his face and him saying a few words of comfort.

"Don't worry," he says. "You two are going to be just fine."

After that, Kai's world suddenly becomes fuzzy and then goes completely black.

* * *

Um, I think I might skip the actual birth. Don't need to go that far, right?

Please review.


	7. My Child, My Son

Reviews: Thank you so much to; Surrealtraversity, Painted Ys, DarkBombayAngel, Taijiya Mizu, Rapunzelle, dragonfire7654321, Olivia, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Destiny Kitty, pheonix80, dark-phoenix-4eva, Mizuki hikari, marishka91, grey-shadow-horse, Tenshi of Freedom, Miako6, babyvicz, NapoleonDaGreat, sanctuarydreams/cowardlyon and Blaze Queenie for reviewing!

I would like to thank Taijiya Mizu once again for the wonderful piece of fanart she drew. It's of Kai and Toshiro, the link is on my profile and I highly recommend that everyone check it out! Toshiro is sooo cute! –_glomps_-

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**Chapter 7:**

**My Child, My Son**

Flickering his eyes open, blinking away the heavy sleep, Kai glances at his surroundings. He soon realizes that he is sitting propped up in a single bed, light blue blankets carefully folded up to his chest. He immediately remembers that he's been taken to hospital, but the events leading up to his arrival are still very hazy. All he can truly remember was the pain in his abdomen when he went into contractions. But he does recall everyone fussing over him.

Subconsciously, Kai places his hand on his stomach, now finding it flat, and winces when he fingers trail along the thick white bandages and gauze now circling his stomach. He won't be able to do anything too strenuous for a while; as he's pretty sure he has a whole lot of stitches.

Rubbing his hand over his stomach, Kai realizes that he has to get used to it being flat again. Over the last few months, he had taken up a habit of holding his pregnant stomach, subconsciously protecting it.

The room is quiet, big and surprisingly empty. Sitting up a little further in bed, Kai looks to his side to see a baby crib, but there is no baby…

A look of sheer panic makes its way onto Kai's face and he sits up a little further. He ignores the pain on his stomach, his mind too occupied with thoughts of the worst case scenario.

Where is his baby? Is his baby ok? Dr Tenzen promised that his baby would be ok!

Suddenly, the door to his room opens and standing in the threshold is a certain aqua haired doctor, carrying rather carefully in a blue blanket is a small child. The child's mass of blue hair sticks up in every direction, his eyes shut off from the world as his sleeps soundly.

"Congratulations," Tenzen says, holding the child up in his arms. "You gave birth to a healthy baby boy."

"Where did you…?" Kai asks, his panic subduing a bit.

"We just gave him a quick bath," Tenzen grins as he walks into the room.

Kai immediately breathes a sigh of relief and sinks back down against his pillows, closing his eyes for a moment to steady his rapidly beating heart. He doesn't have the energy to feel angry with his doctor for scaring him like that, he's just happy that his son is in good health. He opens his eyes again to find Tenzen now standing next to his bed, carefully cradling the small blue bundle in his arms. He then leans down and places the little one in Kai's arm, laying the child's head in the crook of Kai's elbow.

At first, Kai holds his child a little awkwardly in his arms. He's never held a new born before; toddlers, no problem, but never a new born.

But the moment the child touches his arms; Kai knew instinctively what to do. He supports the baby's small and soft head in his arms as he gently strokes his chubby cheek with his fingertips, earning himself a content yawn from the child.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" Tenzen asks in a hush tone, almost afraid to break the father-son moment.

"Yeah…" Kai says softly as he takes his son's tiny little hand in his fingers, smiling warmly when the child wraps his small and chubby fingers around his index finger, emitting yet another yawn.

"There is a certain group of people who are waiting ever so patiently to see you," Tenzen says, a grin appearing on his lips, but with his eyebrow twitching ever so slightly, he gives the impression that his grin is more of a grimace than a smile. "I'll be right back."

Kai suppresses a chuckle when he realizes why. For his teammates, Grev, patience is simply not in their vocabulary. Not just picking on them as Bruce and Gramps are probably getting very nervous and impatient as well. They are about to come grandparents after all.

A frown appears on Kai's lip as he gives a small sigh. Once again, he lets his mind subconsciously wander to his son's wayward father.

Hiro Granger…that jackass! Why isn't he here? And why hasn't he made contact with home, yet? Doesn't that inconsiderate prick know he's making his family worry?

It's almost like he doesn't care. Kai feels used, and rightly so. They had one night together, which in hindsight is pretty reckless and stupid, and then he takes off to gallivant around the world without a care. While Kai is stuck in Japan, pregnant with their love child, living with Hiro's family.

Hiro did say that it was for one night, but Kai never imagined that it would be the last time he has any contact with the infuriating coach.

Looking down at the fragile life in his arms, Kai's anger grows with a hint of sadness. Even if Hiro doesn't want anything else to do with him, the least he could have done was be there for his son's birth. How much longer is Hiro going to be away? How much of his son's life is he going to miss out on?

What angers Kai the most is that Hiro doesn't even know he has a son. Would he care if he did?

That one night, all those months ago was a mistake, but this child in his arms is not. Gazing down at the little one, Kai gets the feeling he might be the best thing that has ever happened to him.

A soft knock at the door pulls Kai out of his thoughts and he can't help but give a tiny smile as a certain group of people he has come to loved as if they were his own family enter the room, immediately swarming around his bed.

"How are you feeling, Kai?" Ray asks tentatively, his amber eyes looking at Kai's face for a moment before shifting to the bundle he is cradling against his chest.

"Just a little tired," Kai answers truthfully, noting that everyone is now looking at his son.

Also turning his gaze back to his son, Kai gives a small smile as he lifts his head again and looks up at Bruce, silently beckoning him over. Wordless, he carefully picks up his son, being mindful to support his head and gingerly hands him to Bruce, who just as carefully takes him in his tender hold, the tiny child being dwarf by the older man's muscular arms.

Kai lays back down against the pillows and stares sleepily up at his son's grandfather, smiling softly at the way the bulky man practically melts when the tiny newborn gives yet another big yawn, curling his tiny hands into fists.

There is a series of coos that echo through the room and Tyson wonders over to peer at his new baby nephew, Hilary lingering on the other side of Bruce.

"Aw," she coos as she gently strokes his cheek with her finger. "He's so cute."

"Of course he is," Tyson says proudly. "He's my nephew after all."

"Bruce, my main man, I dare say you're smitten," Gramps laughs loudly, refraining himself from slapping his son on the back.

"Bruce looks like a proud grandparent," Max comments, a bright smile on his lips, looking as though he would like nothing more than to give that child a big hug and coo how cute he is.

That will definitely have to wait until later, Kai muses to himself.

Glancing to his dark haired teammate standing just next to Max, Kai frowns when he notes that Ray has this far away look on his face and he remembers the conversation they had before he was rushed to hospital.

His family and village back at home are pressuring him to come back and start a family with Mariah. He's no doubt thinking about it now. Ray isn't ready for that, yet.

"Ray," Kai says as he lifts up his hand, letting Ray take it within his own. "Don't feel pressured to do anything you don't want to do, ok?"

Ray has a look of confusion on his face for a moment, but soon realization and gratitude takes its place and he nods his head. "Thanks Kai," he says as he gently squeezes Kai's hand in his.

"What are you going to name him, Kai?" Hilary asks, still cooing over his son. "Something exotic and cool would fit him to a T."

However, Tyson shakes his head. "No, something short and easy to remember."

Daichi folds his arms over his chest and nods his head firmly, looking as if he just made a serious business decision. "You should call the kid Bob."

Kai feels like smacking the little redhead. Oh, hell no. There is no way he's going to name his son Bob.

"No, we can't do that," Max says quickly, his face screwing up into a look of disbelief and disgust. "There is no way I'm going to call a cute little kid like this Bob."

"Yeah," Ray chides in, he too appalled at the idea. "Besides, Bob sounds more like a nickname."

Tyson sticks out his bottom lip in a pout and folds his arms defiantly over his chest. "Then we should call him Bobby."

"Ah!" Kenny cries out, his arms flailing about at his sides. "That's a terrible name!"

"Try telling that to all the Bobby's in the world," Tyson practically hisses as he lowers himself down to tower threatening over the little brunette.

Kai can't help but shake his head at his teammates' antics. They like to argue over the tiniest things. Really, though, as if they have the right to name his son.

"Toshiro."

Everyone immediately snap their attention to the teen on the hospital bed, a flicker of guilt and surprise on their faces when some of them realizing they seemed to have forgotten Kai was here. "Huh?"

Kai simply smiles, his eyes half lidded. "His name is Toshiro."

"Toshiro…" Hilary repeats, tapping her cheek in thought as she gazes at the little baby and after a few seconds a smile makes its way onto her lips. "I like it. It's cute, yet exotic at the same time."

"I like it, too," Max agrees happily. "We can call him Toshie as a nickname."

"I think that's enough excitement for one day," Tenzen says as he walks into the room, taking his time to stare at each individual. "Kai needs his rest; a lot of rest. I suggest that everyone goes home and get that dojo you're living in baby proof."

"Oh right," Tyson groans, his posture slumping forward. "We still have to build that crib."

A sense of protectiveness immediately overwhelms Kai as Bruce carefully places little Toshiro into his hospital crib next to his bed. There is no way on God's green earth he's letting his child anywhere near that death trap Tyson and the others are building.

He grabs Bruce's arm before he leaves. "Take my wallet," he says. "And buy the safest crib you can find. I don't care how much it'll cost."

Bruce laughs and pats Kai's hand. "Don't worry; I was planning to do that anyway." He then wishes Kai a good night sleep and leaves the room, taking a moment to pause and seemingly apologize once again to Tenzen about the other's impatient behavior, but Tenzen simply waves him off dismissively.

Turning his gaze back to his son, his little Toshiro Kai is unable to stop a sense of uncertainty from appearing. He has no fear for his financial future; money isn't a problem which is one load off his mind. But will he be a good father to Toshiro? Will he ever hear from Hiro again, and will he even want to be Toshiro's father?

Sighing, Kai sinks back into his pillows, finally letting his eyelids fall shut. All he can do is take it one day at a time. Toshiro is all that matters now.

* * *

Whoo! Toshiro gets to go home in the next chapter X3

Please review.


	8. The Essence of a True Papa

Reviews: Thanks so much to; Taijiya Mizu, Painted Ys, DarkBombayAngel, black angel falling, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Tenshi of Freedom, dragonfire7654321, pheonix80, Nameless Little Girl, Surrealtraversity, The Cattan Wolf, the Light Shadow, Rapunzelle, MintCa, Miako6, marishka91, Kaz-za-15 and Blaze Queenie for reviewing!

-_sighs_- Another shitty week. I hope everyone is doing better than I am at the moment. Anyway, yay, another chapter! After this chapter there will be a time skip X3 I know everyone is looking forward to that. Please enjoy!

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**Chapter 8:**

**The Essence of a True Papa**

Sitting in the front passenger seat of Bruce's car, Kai can't help but fidget a little in his seat. His stitches in his stomach are starting to pull and itch, and really beginning to agitate him. And he can't seem to stop himself from glancing over his shoulder and the review mirror every second to glance at the sleep tot in the back seat, sitting secure in a specially brought baby seat.

"We're almost home, Kai," Bruce laughs from the driver's side, an understanding smile appearing on his face when he recalls the birth of his first son Hiro and how it took him three hours to get the baby seat in. He wanted to get it right so he's son would be safe and it brings a smile to his face when he sees that Kai is no different.

"Bloody traffic," Kai mutters under his breath at the string of cars before him and then pivots in his seat to look in the backseat once again. Yep, little Toshiro is still sleeping.

Kai breathes a sigh of relief as he turns back around, rubbing his forehead a little from frustration. He just wants to get his son home, into the sanctuary of the dojo. He knows he's being ridiculous, but he can't help but imagine the worst case scenario while on the road. What if there is an accident and Toshiro gets hurt?

He'll be fine, Kai keeps reminding himself.

Kai is going home today as well and he couldn't be happier to get out of the hospital, no offense to Tenzen, he's a great doctor and all, but he can't stand hospitals. He's been sitting in that hospital bed for a week already, with little Toshiro sleeping soundly in that plastic hospital crib by his side. He can't wait to get him home and into a real crib. He hopes the guys have placed it in his room like he asked.

He has about fifteen stitches in his stomach and he isn't allowed to do any strenuous activities for a while. At first Kai worried that he might not be able to lay Toshiro down to sleep in his cot, but Bruce made leverage for his wound. He bought a cot where he can fold down the side, making it easy for him to do what new parents do; handle their child as if they were made of glass.

"You can stop fidgeting now," Bruce says with a laugh as he pulls out the front of the dojo. "We're finally here."

Wasting no time, Kai quickly opens his door and removes himself from his seat. He hurries towards the back where Toshiro continues to sleep peacefully, blissfully unaware of his surroundings. Unbuckling him from his seat, Kai takes his tiny infant son into his arms and exits the car, feeling immense relief at having Toshiro in his arms. He feels like he can protect him here while he's holding him.

"Welcome home, Kai!" The others greet him as he walks in through the door. A smile appears on Kai's face when they start fussing over him and little Toshiro.

Yeah, he's home now. A place where he can raise Toshiro in safety.

"We've placed the crib in your room, Kai," Max announces as he leads the new parent to his room. "Just like you asked us to."

Stepping into the room, Kai breathes a silent sigh of relief when he sees the sturdy wooden crib sitting at the base of his bed, soft and fluffy blue and white blankets flows over the sides and a little yellow teddy sits in a corner, positioned to look over the little one. Walking over to the crib, Kai notes that the side is already down and the blankets are positioned perfectly around a small white pillow, ready for Toshiro to lay his head down and get some sleep.

Carefully, Kai lifts Toshiro off of his chest and with a hand supporting Toshiro's head, lays him down amongst the soft blankets, taking a light blue one and placing it over his son's tiny body. Ignoring the pull of his stitches, Kai leans forward and places a feather light kiss to his brow, Toshiro rewarding him with a yawn of contentment.

Locking the security gate in place as silently as he can, Kai turns around and immediately finds Max gazing at him with soft blue eyes, no doubt thinking about how cute Kai is with his son. A light blush adorns Kai's cheeks, but he tries to ignore it as he shoos Max out of the room, leaving the door ajar so he can hear his baby's cries when it's time for him to eat.

Lingering in the door way, Kai glances into the room, not wanting to be apart of his newborn son. He knows that he is just being silly again, but he can't help but let his maternal instincts take control.

Suddenly, Kai feels a hand land on his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. He glances over his shoulder and finds himself looking into Max's blue eyes.

"Don't worry, Kai," he says in a hush tone so not to awake the sleeping child. "You'll make a great parent to Toshiro."

A smile appears on Kai's lips as he nods his head. "I'll certainly try."

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Ray watches from afar as Kai picks up the now six week old Toshiro up out of his crib and into his arms. He cuddles the little one as he walks out of his room and into the kitchen, reaching out an arm and grabbing a warm bottle of milk the table. He takes a seat on the fluffy couch in the lounge room and places Toshiro on his lap. With a hand on his back, Kai sets about feeding the little one, letting him drink from his bottle, but giving the little one time to breathe in between meals.

It's hard to believe that Kai is only 18 years-old. By the way he handles and takes care of Toshiro, you'd think he's raised a lot of kids. He's the perfect papa for little Toshie –as Max likes to call him.

The others seem to have really taken to the roles of Uncles and Aunties, Bruce and Gramps making awesome grandparents. Thankfully, though, no one has tried to tell Kai how he should raise his son. Every man and his dog has an opinion on how to raise a baby, but they seem to have left Kai alone. He isn't sure if it's because Kai seems to already know what he's doing, or they're afraid to tell him what to do in fear that might get a verbal lashing from that sharp and poisonous tongue of his.

No one other than those already involved know about Toshiro's existence and Kai prefers to keep it that way. He isn't ashamed of the little one, heavens no; he just doesn't want anyone prying into his private life.

Kai seems content, but Ray knows that there is this hurting inside of him. Hiro still hasn't been found and everyone has pretty much stopped looking. It's almost as if he doesn't want to be found. Ray has never mentioned that to Kai, but he gets the feeling that Kai feels that way as well.

Ray can't help but feel a sense of anger swell in his chest. A part of him is absolutely livid that Hiro would do something like this, sleep with Kai and then take off gallivanting around the world without so much as a peep from him. And to make it worst, Hiro has no idea that it's his fault Kai is now a single parent, raising their son without him. Ray is absolutely pissed off with Hiro.

But he also feels a sense of pity. Hiro doesn't know that he has a gorgeous little son to call his own and he doesn't realize that he has the most sought after blader on this planet waiting for him to come home. He's missing out on so much and he doesn't even know. Talk about ironic.

Life has never been easy for Kai; having a grandfather hell-bent of controlling the world of Beyblade, having lost his parents at an early age, forced into a place which can only be described as hell on earth, getting pregnant at seventeen despite being male and now becoming a single parent at eighteen years of age.

Yes, he's been through a lot, but not once does he complain. He takes it on the chin and carries on with life. During the course of his pregnancy, Kai did not have one thought of self pity; his thoughts were always about what he can do to make his son's life easier.

Ray has always admired Kai for his inner strength and passion, but he has grown to admire him even more now because of kindness and understanding. He's a leader, a teammate, a partner, and friend and now most importantly, a parent.

Kai is helping Ray to come to a decision of his own. His village back in China is demanding his return, to put aside his silly need to explore the world a little more and start a family with someone he loves only as his sister. Kai tells him –now speaking like a parent- that all he wishes for him to do is to do what he wants, not what others expect of him. He has reassured him that no matter what decision he makes, he will always have a family here in Japan.

He is, after all, one of Toshiro's uncles. And it's his duty to spoil the kid absolutely rotten.

Knowing all of that makes Ray's decision about his future all the more easier. He might never have a family of his own after this, but who knows what will happen in the future, right?

Turning his amber eyes towards Kai once again, Ray watches with a small smile as Kai pats Toshiro softly on the back a couple of times, earning a small burp from the little one. He then gathers him up into his arms and takes to his feet to walk into the bathroom where the changing table has been set up.

It's crucial for a baby to get a lot of sleep in the first six weeks on his life, limiting his waking time to approximately 40 to 50 minutes each time. Just enough time to give Toshiro a feed and a quick nappy change before placing back down to sleep.

Toshiro is a good baby, he hardy ever cries. Well, not that Ray is aware of. Unless Kai has some secret technique to stop him from crying, he's lucky to have such a quiet kid.

Stepping out of his hiding spot, Ray watches as Kai remerges from the bathroom, Toshiro sleeping soundly in his arms. A smile makes its way onto his lips as he watches Kai gently rock Toshiro in is arms for a moment before placing his gently in his crib, placing a light blanket over him. Making sure that he is safe and sound, Kai places a kiss to his brow before quietly leaving the room.

"Hey Kai," Ray greets as Kai gently closes the door behind him. "How's he doing?"

"He's been sleeping like a log," Kai replies, a small and grateful smile on his lips as he walks down the hallway and into the kitchen, wanting to keep as much noise away from Toshiro as possible. "Thank goodness, he was practically kept me awake all night last night."

"Ah," Ray smiles. "Restless?"

"I had to keep him in bed with me where I had to rock him back to sleep every time he started crying," Kai explains as he opens the fridge door. "Is it my turn to cook dinner tonight?" he asks, trying to remember the roistering of chores.

"You cooked last night," Ray replies, a feline smirk appearing on his lips when he realizes that Kai had forgotten, no doubt too busy fussing over Toshiro to recall. "It's my turn tonight."

A look of realization appears on Kai's face as he closes the fridge door. "That's right. Then it must be Tyson's turn to go shopping."

Ray silently nods his head and gazes at Kai for a moment, silently mulling over his thoughts. He then gives his head a quick shakes and focus at Kai with a sense of determination. "I've been thinking about what you said, Kai."

Kai tilts his head to the side in confusion for a moment before his eyes widen in realization. "Yes?"

"You're right," Ray says simply as he walks over to the kitchen utensil draw and pulls out the sharpest knife he can find. "You know, it's against my village's belief to cut your hair." He pulls his long hair over his shoulder and then slices the knife through his hair in one fluent movement, sending the long pony tail of black hair to the floor.

A gasp of surprise escapes Kai's lips and he covers his mouth with his hand as he stares at Ray with wide eyes. "You mean…?"

A neko smile makes its way onto Ray's lips as he gazes down at the lifeless pony tail. "I was getting tired of washing it, anyway," he shrugs as he places the knife in the sink to wash later.

"Ray…" Kai whispers, a sense of pride shimmering in his eyes. "Good for you. Do something you want for once."

Once again, Ray simply shrugs. "I thought I'd stick around here for a while. After all, you'll need help taking care of Toshiro."

Kai moves forward to give him a quick hug. "You'll be a great uncle to him, I know it."

* * *

Wah! Don't kill me for cutting your hair, Ray! –_hides_-

Please review.


	9. The Patter of Tiny Feet

Reviews: Thanks so much to; DarkBombayAngel, Rapunzelle, pheonix80, Surrealtraversity, dragonlilly1993, Destiny Kitty, MintCa, SherryBird, beybladegirl7, the Light Shadow, dragonfire7654321, marishka91, Miako6, OnlyNotReally, Painted Ys, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Taijiya Mizu, Tenshi of Freedom, Phsyco/Deranged/Unstablereader, Blaze Queenie, MikaMiko, Nameless Little Girl, black angel falling and Hiira for taking the time to review! Loves you all very much X3

**Attention**: More wonderful Kai and Toshiro fanart from the ever talented Taijiya Mizu (taijiya23 on Deviantart). Link is on top of my profile, be sure to check it out!

Yup, there's a tiny treat at the end of this chapter for you. Remember, no killing the author ^^

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**Chapter 9:**

**The Patter of Tiny Feet**

As the soft radiant glow of the sun's warning rays enters Kai's bedroom, he slowly arouses from his sleep, blearily blinking open his eyes as he lifts his head off of his pillow. It takes him a moment or two to adjust to the bright light and stretches his long frame.

Suddenly, he stills when he hears the familiar sound of footsteps and rolls over in bed, a soft smile gracing his lips as he pretends that he is still asleep. The door of his bedroom creaks open and tiny feet walking on tiptoe enters the room. The smile on Kai's face widens when the images of a young boy with light blue hair and bright red eyes crouches down near the side of the bed, his tongue slipping out in a sense of anticipation of what's to come.

Then…

"Papa!" A young voice cries happily and jumps onto the bed, lying across him. "Time to get up!"

Kai cracks open an eye, immediately seeing the smiling face of his three-and-a-bit year-old son, Toshiro. It still amazes him how energetic his little one could be, especially first thing in the morning. His favourite activity is waking everyone up by literally pouncing on them. He likes jumping on Tyson's stomach to wake him as Tyson would yelp, roll over and fall out of bed. He would then get up and pretend to be mad and chase Toshiro around the house, tickling him relentlessly when he catches him.

Rolling over, Kai wraps his arms around Toshiro and sits up, pulling his son into his lap and tucks his head under his chin. "Ok, Toshiro, I'm up."

Toshiro giggles happily and looks up at him with his expressive and beautiful bright eyes. "Morning Papa!"

"Good morning to you, too," Kai says as he gently kisses the top of his head, a content look on his face. "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh huh," Toshiro replies as a huge grin appears on his face in a sense that he has something really important and exciting to tell him. "I had this dream that I was at the beach and a dolphin came up and I could ride it and-"

Kai cannot help but chuckle as Toshiro is madly in love the beach, has been the moment he set foot on one at a very young age. He loves playing on the shore line, running away from the waves and then chasing them when they recede, only to run away again moments later.

"That sounds like a very nice dream."

Toshiro nods his head enthusiastically and bounces a little with excitement in his lap. "Yeah! Papa, can we go to the park today, please?"

Kai has been expecting that request, Toshiro just loves being outdoors in the sun. He's going to be a right little adventurer when he gets older. "Alright, as long as you eat all of your breakfast, ok?"

"Kay!" Toshiro says as he settles himself down in Kai's, grabbing a hold of his hand and presses their palms together, in awe at how much bigger his papa's hand is compared to his. "What's for breakfast? I'm hungry."

A soft smile makes its way onto Kai's lips. "What would you like?"

Toshiro places his tiny hand on his chin in thought, his eyes rolling upwards. He has a big decision to make. "Um...pancakes!" he then says as his usual smile appears on his face.

Kai has been expecting that as well, as pancakes seem to be Toshiro's favourite morning meal. "You had those yesterday," he points out with a soft laugh.

"Papa makes the best pancakes," Toshiro says as he folds his arms over his chest and nods his head in a serious, businesslike manner.

"Oh, do I now?"

"Uh huh. Better than Uncle Ray," he then lifts up his hand and cups it near his mouth, whispering cheekily to Kai, "Don't tell him I said that."

"Your secret is safe with me," Kai says as he puts a finger near his lips. He then picks up son up effortlessly into his arms and places him on his feet. "Race you to the kitchen."

"Kay!" Toshiro says cheerfully and then races out of the room, a right ball of energy.

Kai watches him leave and shakes his head in mild amusement before he stretches and slips out of bed himself. He then proceeds to head to the kitchen as well, but at a more leisurely pace. He can already see his son's bright smile when the little one claims victory of their race.

It's hard to believe that Toshiro is already 3 and a bit. Kai can still remember the day he brought Toshiro home from the hospital. He has been living at the dojo ever since, not that he minds too much. This place is perfect for Toshiro to grow up in safety.

Besides, it's not like the Grangers would allow him to move back to his old apartment anyway.

Over the years the once childish and flamboyant Grev have matured into fine young men, the most notable is, of course, Kai himself. Gone is his dark clothing and his anti-social stare, instead he had become softer, warmer in both personality and appearance. These days he prefers to wear simple, yet durable clothing. Jeans or cargo pants with loose fitting jumpers during the cooler months and shorts that end about mid thigh with either long or short sleeves during the warmer months.

Even his hair has changed; no longer as spiky as it used to be. The stormy gray bangs now fall gentle waves around his face, elegantly framing his still stunning ruby red eyes. His tribal tattoos that adorn his face, however, are as bright and bold as ever.

Most notable change in his attitude is that he is becoming more open with his emotions. He expresses his happiness or annoyance more frequently, but he still posses his killer glare that he uses only on people who tell him how he should be raising Toshiro or if anyone looks at his son the wrong way. He might be older now, but he can still kick your ass in a split second.

It can be said that Toshiro is the sole purpose for Kai's change. Toshiro is a wonderful child, happy and always cheerful. He keeps Kai busy but is most certainly not classed as a handful.

Toshiro is a well cared for child; he has several uncles, one aunty, one grandparent and one great grandparent who all readily spoil him rotten, but he's not a selfish or bratty child at all.

Gramps Granger is still going strong, no sign of him slowing down, despite Bruce's pleas for him to relax a little. But he simply laughs and tells him that he has no time to relax when he has a great grandson to spoil rotten.

Bruce had decided to stay in Japan, growing weary of his wonderings for the time being. He is currently working with Kai and the BBA on Bitbeast research. Bruce has changed little over the years; the same understanding father figure he always has been. Kai really respects Bruce for everything he has done for him. He sees him as the father he can't remember.

For a year now, Grev are no longer participating in any more tournaments. They retired after last year's tournament with an undefeated record. Kai didn't participate in the last three tournaments as he was too busy looking after Toshiro. After what happened with his battle against Brooklyn where he was almost killed, Kai never wants to risk his life like that again. For if he did, Toshiro would be without a papa or a father. He's sure his teammates would look after him if anything should happen to him, but he does not want Toshiro to go through the same pain his did when he was young.

Toshiro is his world now.

"I beated you, Papa!"

A laugh passes Kai's lips and he bends down to give Toshiro a hug, picking him up off the floor and balances him on his hip. "You sure did."

He carefully places Toshiro onto his chair and lets him grab a few crayons to use on pieces of paper scattered across the table. This will occupy him until breakfast is ready.

"Good morning Kai," comes a familiar voice on a wide yawn. Kai glances over his shoulder in time to see Ray enter the room, his shorter hair pulled into a lose pony tail at the nape of his neck. His hair is nowhere near as long as it used to be. A neko grin makes its way onto Ray's lips and he leans down to ruffle up Toshiro's spiky blue hair. "Morning squirt."

"Morning Uncle Ray," Toshiro replies cheerfully and quickly goes back to drawing, getting lost within its importance.

"Hey," Kai greets as Ray walks over to him, a hand on the small of his back as he looks to see what he's preparing.

"Hmm, pancakes again?" Ray asks with a knowing grin.

"Toshiro asked for them again this morning," Kai explains with a light shrug, biting his bottom lip just a little when the hand on his back lingers there.

"You're going to spoil him," Ray chuckles and finally pulls away from him, walking over to the other side of the room to remove plates and cutlery from a cupboard.

"As if everyone else isn't," Kai quips over his shoulder, to which Ray simply laughs.

"Too true."

Ray had severed all ties to his village after his refusal to marry his childhood friend, Mariah. He couldn't do it to her. He felt that she deserved someone who would love her and did not want to tie her to a loveless marriage because a group of grumpy old meddling farts thought they could control the destinies of those who reside in their village.

There was, of course, a huge uproar from the elders and Lee even demanded to know why Ray would do something to disappoint his village like that. Ray simply told him that he felt that it was time for him to choose his own path in life, explaining to him that even though he loves Mariah, he only loves her as a sister and did not wish to ruin her life by forcing her into a loveless marriage. It wasn't fair on anyone, especially not her.

It has been a difficult time for Ray over the last few years, but he never had any second thoughts and Kai is very proud of him for standing up for himself like that.

Ray accredited his new found intemperance on Kai and little Toshiro. The two of them made him see that it's important to choose what you want to do in life, not let others choose for you.

"Oh, I've got a text from Max this morning," Ray comments as he begins to set the table.

"Ah, how is he?"

"He's doing well," Ray says with a grin. "He's helping Judy train a few of the youngsters."

A warm grin appears on Kai's face at the thought of the young blonde; he'd make a great coach one day. Max is currently in America, spending time with his mother who was forced to take a few weeks off because of stress and her strenuous workload.

Max has changed very little over the last few years, having grown much taller, taller than Kai is now and his build more athletic, he can effortlessly throw Kai over his shoulder and parade him around, much to Toshiro's delight. Although it's highly embarrassing to be thrown about by Max, it's nice to hear Toshiro laugh the way he does.

However, despite his physical change, Max is still the bright and friendly young man he had been in his youth. His blue eyes still lighten up the room and he still uses that puppy expression whenever he wants something to go his way.

Kai is starting to suspect that Max taught his son how to do that expression as Toshiro uses it so often on him now. But knowing the little one, he learnt it himself and doesn't realize that he's doing it.

"I'm going to get Tyson and Daichi up," Ray says as he makes his way out of the kitchen, once again stopping to ruffle up Toshiro's already untameable hair.

"Okay, food won't be long," Kai calls out after him.

Good old Tyson and Daichi, they still like to sleep in.

Personality wise, Tyson and Daichi had changed very little, they were both loud and competitive, seeing everything as a challenge and a game for them to win. Although, they're not nearly as bad as they used to be.

Physically, though, they have grown quite a bit as well. Tyson has officially lost all baby fat and is now quite a tall and lean young man, his arms appearing quite strong without being overly muscular. And to make matters worse for Kai, Tyson is also taller than he is.

Officially, Kai is the third shortest male, Kenny and Daichi still being shorter than he is and Toshiro, for obvious reasons, doesn't count. And don't think Tyson doesn't like to drop the fact that he's taller than him in conversation every once in a while. He does and he does it whenever he realizes that he may be losing an argument of some kind.

Daichi is still the hyperactive monkey boy, only slightly taller. Other than that, he hasn't changed much at all. He likes to see himself as an older brother figure to Toshiro, which scares Kai just a little. He doesn't want Toshiro growing up as...active as Daichi.

And Hiro...

No one knows where he is, or if he is even alive at this stage. Four years have passed and there hasn't been a single solitary word from him. Nothing.

No one has said anything to him, but they fear something terrible has happened to the wayward ex-coach. Even for Hiro's standards, this was too long without contact. Kai knows that Bruce has been trying to locate his son on the quiet, not wanting to upset him, but even so, Kai can't help but feel this sense of bitterness. He can feel deep within his heart that Hiro is alive somewhere, but there is also this sense of fear that maybe something did happen to him.

He feels torn, not knowing what to do or feel. It's been four years; he just wants a confirmation of some kind, even if it's just a 'Hey' from him. There's this emptiness inside of him, one he tries to fill by busying himself with Toshiro and part-time work with the BBA. He has made sure that there was no time in his life from romantic love of any kind. He's not interested in forming a relationship. He doesn't want Toshiro to get hurt.

Kai is happy with being a single parent and being without a lover of his own, really he is, but he can't help but feel guilty whenever he turns down both Ray and Tyson's advances; he knows he should be flattered that he has two wonderful young men vying for his affections.

Yes, both Tyson and Ray have confessed their feelings for him, much to his surprise. They're really sweet and understanding about how he can't return their feelings due to a sense of fear in his heart. He allows them a kiss or two, but it goes no further than that. And he feels terrible about it.

No matter what they do for him, how they would try to hold him, comfort him, he just can't bring himself to love them as they love him.

It's because, despite everything, he's still in love with Hiro. He knows it's stupid, it's obvious that Hiro wants nothing to do with him, but he can't help what he heart chooses to do. There's this sense of hope that Hiro will return, and he better have a bloody good excuse for taking so long!

Not many people know of Toshiro's existence. Only the most trusted members of the BBA and a few selected bladers from around the world know of the little one. Kai's childhood friends, the Blitzkrieg Boys know about Toshiro. At first they were bewildered at how the little one was conceived and then utterly pissed when they found out that Hiro had done.

Tala even threatened to hunt the bastard down and drag him all the way back to Japan. Of course, he couldn't do that himself. He was needed in Russia as the Abbey has been converted to an orphanage that they actually run for abused and neglected children.

Taking care of an Abbey filled with orphan children is a full time job, and oddly enough, they ring Kai here at the dojo to ask for advice on how to look after the children more thoroughly.

Who knew the big, tough Blitz boys would flail at the sight of a small child with a head cold? It's still sweet, none the less. He'll take Toshiro is Russia one day as a treat; he'll have fun playing with other children his age.

A sudden knock at the door pulls Kai out of his thoughts and he furrows his brow in confusion as who could be knocking at their door at this time in the morning. Despite still wearing his night clothes, Kai wipes his hands on a dish clothe and walks to the front door.

As he pushes open the door a sudden sense of anticipating fills Kai's being and he throws open the door, his eyes widening in utter disbelief. There, standing at the door is a very familiar, still undoubtedly handsome wayward coach that had caused him so much heartache.

Despite the weariness in his eyes and posture of fatigue, he still looks as handsome, charming and undeniably sexy as he did four years ago.

A smile of mild relief suddenly twitches onto his lips. "Kai?"

Kai suddenly feels faint, like this is all a dream.

"...Hiro?"

* * *

Yes, finally, Hiro is here! –_cheers_- And about time too, you jerk!

Hiro: Hey, you're the one in charge here, not me!

Oh, excuses! Anyway, please review!


	10. Angel with an Attitude

Reviews: Thanks so much to; sweetylulu, Surrealtraversity, Taijiya Mizu, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, dragonlilly1993, pheonix80, DarkBombayAngel, Destiny Kitty, Painted Ys, Sonia, MintCa, SherryBird, grey-shadow-horse, Mizuki hikari, BeaochCloe, Rapunzelle, the Light Shadow, .EverLastingFun., dragonfire7654321, Nameless Little Girl, OnlyNotReally, black angel falling, The Cattan Wolf, FallenHope-Angel, Tenshi of Freedom, marishka91, dark-phoenix-4eva, Blaze Queenie, MikaMiko and golden-issa123 for taking the time to review! Loves you all very much! X3

Whoo! I have the next chapter up! Yay me! Sorry about the wait, this chapter was giving me hell to write T.T So you better enjoy it! I'm only kidding, but I do hope you like it. Things are starting to get interesting now.

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**Chapter 10:**

**Angel with an Attitude**

"Hiro?" Kai breathes, his heart starting to race painfully in his chest as he stares unblinking at the male before him. He couldn't quite believe what he is seeing. It's been four years and yet Hiro is as handsome, sexy and alluring as ever. His skin holds a golden brown tan, the muscles in his arms tone and taut and his posture still holds this arrogant stance to it.

And his scent...still as knee-trembling as ever.

"Hey, Kai," he replies as a small, charming smile appears on his lips.

Suddenly, a surge of anger takes hold of Kai and without a moment's hesitation or thought; he moves forward and abruptly slaps Hiro right across the face, the force of the blow causing Hiro to whip his head to the side.

After four goddamn years of not knowing where the hell is was or whether or not he was alive, all he can say is 'hey'?

That asshole!

"Don't you 'hey' me," Kai tells him as he stumbles backwards, tears beginning to well in the corners of his eyes. He knows that isn't the type of welcome Hiro had been expecting, but he doesn't care. All he can think of is how dare the wayward young man in front of him miss out on so much of his son's life?

"I probably deserved that," he mutters as he holds his cheek with his hand, a somewhat sad smile on his lips as he turns to face him.

Kai finds himself unable to respond, still staring at him with wide eyes. A part of him wants to so desperately fall back into those strong arms and forget about all the fear and hurt he's been through. He wants to cry into his chest while beating the shit out of him with his hands. But his pride won't let him. He doesn't want the arrogantly handsome coach to see how much he has affected him, how much he still desires him even after everything he's done to him.

"Papa!" a cheerful voice rings out and immediately causes Kai to harden his resolve. There is no way he is going to let Hiro hurt Toshiro, as he is most certain the older male is going to leave them all again in a couple of days, on yet another great adventure.

There is no way he wants to see the look of hurt and confusion on Toshiro's face when Hiro disappears from his life just as suddenly as he came.

He just knows he will leave again, it's in Hiro's nature; he can't stay in one spot for too long or he feels trapped and lifeless.

"Papa!" Toshiro calls out again and quickly appears by Kai's side, tugging happily on his arm. "Uncle Ray says he'll eat all the food if you don't come back."

"Ok," Kai says softly, still staring at Hiro, unable to take his eyes off of him.

Suddenly, Hiro looks down at the small blue hair and red eyed boy that now has his arms around Kai's legs in a hug and furrows his brow in confusion. "Papa?" he whispers to himself, a small underlying of jealousy and annoyance in his tone.

"What's with the kid?" he asks quite bluntly, turning his attention back onto Kai, his brow set in a furrowed look.

_The kid_? Oh, he did not just call his own son 'kid'. If he has that kind of reaction to the little one, what would he say if he knew the truth?

"This kid has a name," Kai hisses at him as he clenches his hands into fists by his sides, resisting the urge to slap him across the face again. "It's Toshiro and his is my son. And don't you dare refer to him as kid ever again. You got that?"

Hiro physically reels back in shock at the venom in Kai's voice and the glaring hatred in his eyes. "Jeez, what crawled up your ass and died?" he asks him, his posture and tone immediately becoming defensive.

"What's all the noise?" Tyson asks as he sleepily steps out of his room, running his fingers through his messy head of bed hair. He suddenly squints at Kai and then at their new visitor and his eyes immediately widens.

"Hiro?!" he practically splutters in disbelief.

The sound of Tyson's exclamation quickly brings on the sound of other footsteps coming closer and soon all the occupants in the dojo are pressing themselves into the hallway, they too wearing expression that are a mixture of disbelief, surprise and relief.

Amongst the noise, Kai feels a light tug on his clothes and he looks down, gazing into the eyes of his precious son who in turn is looking up at him, his head tilting cutely in the side with confusion on his face.

"Papa?" he says and points toward Hiro, who is now the centre of attention. "Who's that?"

"...Just someone," Kai finds himself saying, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Wanting to get his rapidly beating heart back to normal, Kai abruptly picks Toshiro up in his arms and pushes his way through the group as they welcome Hiro back into their lives. The tears are now beginning to form more readily and now casting trails down his cheeks. He is sure he can feel stares of concern at the back of his head, but he ignores them, too caught up in the whirlwind of emotions he is currently feeling.

He isn't sure what the tears are from. Were they angry tears, relieved tears, bitter tears or sad tears? He doesn't know. All he does know is that he just wants to cry and hit something.

Balancing Toshiro on his hip, Kai carries him into his bedroom and begins to rummage through his clothing, looking for a set for him to wear today as his thoughts sudden veer off to a different thought pattern completely. He's not entirely ready to deal with Hiro's sudden appearance just yet, so he falls into this defensive, automatic state and tries to distract himself.

Besides, he's really busy at the moment. He has to give the little one something to eat and then take him to the park; he promised him he would, so he doesn't have time to deal with Hiro at the moment.

And Toshiro is far more important than his reunion with the man he slept with four years ago, who he still has dreams about, who still makes his heart race at the sound of his voice, who-

"What's wrong, papa?"

The sound of concern in Toshiro's voice pulls Kai out of his thought and quickly releases that the tears are still cascading down his cheeks. He gazes at his son, who is no longer looking up at him with his usual bright smile and shinning eyes, but with a face creased with a frown of concern.

Biting his lip, Kai pulls Toshiro in for a hug, the little one clinging to him, reluctant to let him go as he tries to set him on his feet, on the floor.

"I'm alright," he tells him softly, kneeling on the floor in front of his son as he casually wipes his tears away with the heel of his hand, his other hand lingering on his son's shoulder. "That man, his names is Hiro and he's an old friend of mine. He's been missing for a few years, that's all."

"Oh," Toshiro says as he tilts his head to the side again, his big ruby red eyes blinking cutely at him. "Is he another uncle?"

Kai hesitates in answering that question. Since the time Toshiro has been born and been able to understand what he is saying, he has told him that he is very special, that he has two fathers instead of one, and that his dad was an adventurer. But, what can he tell him now?

He won't tell Toshiro Hiro is his father until he is certain of what Hiro's plans are. Is he just going to leave again?

"...Not exactly," he finds himself muttering, not wanting to lie to his own son, but also not wanting to confuse him more than he already is. "But he is a friend."

Kai can't believe he just said that, then again, he still can't believe he's in love with the arrogant older man. After everything that has happened and the way two very wonderful men are trying to woo him with their patience and fondness for Toshiro, he still longs for the man who left him after one night of passion.

He must be really messed up in the head.

"Kay, I'll call him Mr. Hiro!" Toshiro says cheerfully, happy with himself for coming up with such a cool name for his new friend.

A sad smile appears on Kai's lips and he nods his head. He knows he should tell Toshiro the truth, but he can't bear to see his son hurt by the same man that unintentionally hurt him.

"Now, let's get changed and have some breakfast before we go to the park, ok?" Kai suggests as he finds the strength to climb to his feet, his smile turning into a sincere warmth when Toshiro gives a bright cheer, quickly returning to his bubbly self and tugs on his arm impatiently for Kai to help him get dressed.

Dressing his son is always a welcome distraction for Kai as the little one hates to sits still and is always jumping about with full energy, even as a baby he couldn't stop wriggling while he was trying to change his diaper.

Finally getting the bundle of energy into some clothes, Kai takes a moment to draw in a deep breath before stepping out into the hallway, immediately finding himself the object of the ever fatherly Bruce's concern.

Of course. After his dramatic exit, everyone must be worried about him. They're probably unsure whether Hiro knows about Toshiro being his son or not.

"Toshiro," Kai says as he looks down at the child holding his hand, not wanting him to hear his impending conversation with his grandfather. "Why don't you run off into the kitchen and wait for me? Papa needs to get dressed as well."

Another bright smile and a cheerful 'Kay' follows before Toshiro lets go of his hand and quickly races off towards the kitchen where he can hear voices chatting amongst themselves. He also appears rather eager to meet papa's new friend.

Kai watches him leave before turning back to Bruce, who he notices is hesitant to ask him about his well-being. "I'm fine," he tells him quickly as he heads towards his own room, Bruce a few steps behind him.

"Are you going to tell him?" Bruce asks softly and Kai immediately knows he's asking about Hiro.

Kai pauses for a moment before shaking his head. "No," he says bluntly, not needing to turn around to know that Bruce's eyes just softened into a look of disappointment and sadness.

"Kai…"

"I don't want Hiro to be Toshiro's father because he has to," Kai explains as he turns to face the older man. "I want Hiro to want to be his father. Don't you see, if you doesn't like him just because he doesn't know of his parentage, then why kind of father would he be?"

Bruce sighs sadly, seemingly realizing that he has a point. "Kai…"

"I'm going to get dressed and finish up breakfast now," Kai says as he gives him a short bow and excuses himself as he steps into his room. "Excuse me."

He then closes the door on Bruce still gazing at him in concern and slumps against the door, suddenly feeling lethargic and weary, lingering there for a few moments before pushing away and walking over to his bed. He somehow manages to find a set of clothing to slip on in his state of mental and emotional exhaustion, opting for a pair of short and a loose t-shirt.

He then abruptly sits down on the covers of his bed and pulls his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them in self-comfort.

"I don't know what to do," he whispers to himself, blinking back tears of frustration that once again begin to form in his eyes.

A soft knock at the door gains Kai's attention and he uncurl his legs as he hastily rubs at his eyes. "Who is it?" he asks, somehow managing to keep his voice from shaking.

However, he quickly stiffens when he hears the deep, husky voice of one Hiro Granger, one that still causes shivers to race down his spine. "Kai?"

"What do you want?" Kai asks stiffly when the door to his bedroom opens and Hiro steps him, giving him a 'kicked puppy' expression as he closes the door behind him.

"I know you're mad at me," he says with an understanding tone in his voice. "Tyson informed me-"

Kai immediately takes to his feet, his heart about to leap out of his chest. "What did he tell you?" he quickly interrupts him, praying that Tyson didn't tell him about his pregnancy, bio-volt and Toshiro.

Oh God, if he did…

Hiro raises an eyebrow at Kai's reaction, surprised at the defensiveness of his posture. "He just said that you were pissed off at me for leaving abruptly after we spent the night together."

"Heh," Kai says as he covers a sigh of relief with a mocking short laugh. "I'm more than pissed off Hiro."

"I'm really sorry," Hiro says as he falls into an apologetic state, his usually tall and strong posture softening into an expression of guilt and empathy. "I don't regret the night, really, I don't. I just-"

For someone so strong and handsome, he can be so cute at times and if Kai wasn't so stubborn in his resolve, he might have threw his arms around his neck in a hug and tell him he's forgiven.

However, Kai isn't so naïve anymore.

"God dammit, Hiro!" Kai hisses at him, interrupting his seemingly well practiced sorry speech. It's going to take a hell of a lot more than a sorry and some begging to get back on his good side.

And by the wince on Hiro's face, he realizes that as well.

"Four years," Kai continues, holding up four fingers to illustrate the point. "Four god damn years you were gone for. That's a long time, don't you think? We didn't hear a word from you. Yes, I'm mad at you. I have every right to be. Do you honestly expect me to welcome you back with open arms like nothing happened? You left without a word. You used me, bedded me and then disappeared into the night. You didn't even say; so long. Even a handshake with a; 'it's been real' would have been more appropriate!"

Hiro remains silent as Kai breathes heavily before him, appearing as if he's waited years to get that off his chest. Well, technically, he has. "Kai…" he says with a sigh.

"Don't you 'Kai' me," Kai snaps at him, not quite done venting yet, but the anger seems to be slowly dissipating into a sense of fatigue and bitterness. He looks up at Hiro through tear shimmering eyes, a desperate look on his face.

The expression almost breaks Hiro's heart and the guilt in his eyes deepens. What has he done?

"I thought you were dead," Kai whispers as he struggles to remain in control. "Do you have any idea how that feels?"

Silence reigns over the two of them as they gaze into each other's eyes, seeming falling deep within their depths. Suddenly, Hiro takes a step forward and draws an unresponsive Kai into his arms, his mouth immediately coming down to cover his fiercely in a kiss, holding onto him as tightly as he can.

As soon as Hiro's lips touches his, Kai's world goes blank, only the feel of Hiro's mouth covering his and his tongue curling around his in a deeply explorative kiss is all that matters. He finds himself clinging to the older male, running his fingers through his wild blue hair, even though he knows that he shouldn't be allowing Hiro to do this to him.

However, his body betrays his mind, seemingly remembering the way Hiro's touch brings about immediate pleasure. Oh God, how he missed this, how he missed the infuriatingly handsome man.

But dammit, if he thinks he can just waltz into his life and sweep him off his feet again, he's got another thing coming!

"Stop it!" Kai orders as he abruptly pushes himself out of Hiro's arms, breathing heavily from the intense passion of the kiss and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm not the naïve teenager you bedded four years ago, Hiro. I've grown up. I've changed. And it appears to me that you haven't."

Hiro, having stumbled back from the suddenness of Kai leaving his arms, sends him a look that is a mixture of confusion and annoyance. "You didn't exactly fight back," he points out.

Kai presses his lips into a thin line, knowing with annoyance that he is right, he didn't exactly push him away the moment he took him into his arms. "No, I guess I didn't."

"So," Hiro says as he straightens his posture, a sense of hope appearing in his gaze. "You still have feelings for me?"

A wince appears on Kai's face and inwardly flails for a moment. Curse that man! Even after four years apart, he can still read him like a book!

"I will admit that I have missed you," Kai tells him honestly. "But things are different now. You've missed so much and there is no way I'm letting Toshiro get hurt. As I said before, four years is a long time. Do you have any idea how much you've missed out on?"

A flash of annoyance briefly appears in Hiro's eyes. "You mustn't have been too heartbroken if you slept with some slut and got a son out of the deal."

Kai's own eyes widen in surprise at the accusation before quickly narrowing into his worldly famous glare of death, intensified by his maternal instinct. "How dare you?" he practically snarls at him. "I would never sleep with some random female just to get over you."

A flicker of regret appears on Hiro's face and he subconsciously takes a step back, Kai's reaction quickly reminding him of how much of a mother-hen he could be. Still, the little one's appearance is eating away at his curiosity. "…Who is Toshiro's mother?"

"He doesn't have one," Kai snaps at him, his eyes still narrow with anger. "He never did and he never will."

Hiro's confusion and curiosity only grows at Kai's answer and he furrows his brow further. "What is that suppose to mean?"

"Figure it out for yourself," Kai says stiffly as he moves to step past him. He has to get away from him. He needs to take Toshiro to the park, where, hopefully, the fresh air will do him some good.

"Where are you going?" Hiro asks as he quickly snares Kai's wrist in his larger hand, unintentionally causing goosebumps to form on Kai's skin.

"I'm taking Toshiro to the park," Kai tells him and rips his wrist out of his grip, not turning to face him. It's like he's afraid too, as if he looks into Hiro's pleading eyes a moment longer, he might lose all control and break down into his arms. "Excuse me."

"Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things, ok?" Hiro says as he follows the inwardly seething young parent through the dojo, the other occupants wisely staying out of their way. "I'm just surprised, that's all. I want to make up for the time I've been away. I want to explore what we had together."

"Yeah, until your next big adventure," Kai accuses as he suddenly stops in his tracks, turning to give Hiro another hard glare. He stares at him for a long moment before sighing deeply and running a hand through his hair, realizing that they had unwilling brought their private argument to the rest of the dojo.

The last thing Kai wants is for his family to feel uncomfortable around him and Hiro. He does not want Hiro's family to give him a cold shoulder because of something he did. Family is important and he refuses to be the one who's ripping them apart.

"Look, for the sake of Toshiro and the others, let's try to keep our fights and accusations to a minimum, ok?" he suggests. "I do not wish to fight in front of Toshiro. And if you had an ounce of honor in that despicable body of yours, you'll agree."

It's ok, they're both grown men, and surely, they can come to some sort of an agreement. Right?

"Kai…"

* * *

Whew, long chapter. What? Did you expect Kai to take Hiro back after everything he's done? Not likely. Hiro has to really prove himself in further chapters X3 Who wants to see him squirm?

Please review.


	11. Unanswered Questions

Reviews: Thanks so much; DarkBombayAngel, pheonix80, sasukechica, Surrealtraversity, dark-phoenix-4eva, MintCa, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Neko-chan desu desu, Blaze Queenie, marishka91, Painted Ys, sweetylulu, the Light Shadow, MikaMiko, babyvicz, SherryBird, OnlyNotReally, black angel falling, FallenHope-Angel, Rapunzelle, Affectionate-Loon, Tenshi of Freedom and The Cattan Wolf for taking the time to review! I 'heart' you all! X3

I don't think the Blitz boys will make an appearance in this fic. I kinda want to keep the focus on Kai and his relationships with Grev and Hiro at this point in time. I'm sure you know what I mean, right?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. And be forewarned, there's a terrible cliff-hanger at the end X3

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**Chapter 11:**

**Unanswered Questions**

Normally, a trip to the park was something that brought smiles to both Kai and Toshiro's faces, but today, Kai can only bring himself to smile half-heartedly. He loves watching Toshiro run around with the other kids, acting happy and carefree like all children should, but he can't help the way his mind seems intent on tormenting him, reminding him how his world of denial and illusions came crashing down.

He still can't believe that after four years absence, Hiro just comes waltzing back into his life and expect to pick up where they left off.

If that egotistical man thought it would be that easy for Kai to forget the countless nights where he had stayed away in bed, wondering if something bad had happen to him; he has another thing coming!

He can't believe the arrogance of that man, kissing him passionately like that and then accusing him of sleeping with some slut to get Toshiro! He has been faithful the entire time, even with Ray and Tyson offering to take Hiro's place in his heart. Either male is a much better choice than Hiro himself.

Still, this blasted heart of his won't let his head take control over who he should be in love with.

"What is wrong with me?" Kai asks himself softly as he presses the palm of his hand against his forehead, the memory of that abrupt but passionate kiss he shared with Hiro just this morning filling his mind.

Even though he'd soon bite off his own tongue than admit that he enjoyed it, he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't. He did enjoy that kiss and against his better judgement, he wants to share another kiss with the stupid man.

Oh, why does life have to be so complicated right now?

"Kai?"

The sound of a familiar voice pulls Kai from his musings, his eyes widening ever-so slightly in surprise that Tyson, of all people, managed to sneak up on him. This whole Hiro suddenly reappearing in his life seems to be messing with his head something serious.

"Oh, hey Tyson," Kai says as he looks up from his sitting position on the park bench, watching with ruby red eyes as Tyson moves to take a seat next to him.

"You left the house pretty upset this morning," Tyson says with a hint of concern, as well as something Kai can't quite put his finger on, in his voice. "I just thought I better check up on you."

"Oh, I'm just thinking, you know?" Kai says as he tries to sound dismissive, not wanting to burden Tyson with his worries. "Hiro's appearance kinda took me by surprise, as it did everyone else as well, I suppose."

Suddenly, Tyson places his arm around Kai's shoulders and pulls him close. Kai immediately stiffens and tries to pull away, but Tyson's grip is firm and Kai can even feel a sense of possessiveness in his presence.

A wince flitters across Kai's face when he realizes that Hiro's sudden reappearance has probably brought out Tyson and Ray's competitive streaks, not wanting to 'lose' to Hiro again.

Great, as if life isn't complicated enough as it is. He now has to deal with three males trying to 'woo' him over. Add in the fact that he doesn't 'love' two of them and the man he's still madly in love with abandoned him, you've got yourself a recipe for uncountable stress for Kai to handle.

"What are you doing?" Kai asks, even though he knows the answer to that question.

"It looked like you needed some comfort," Tyson says casually as he shifts a little closer.

"Tyson..." Kai says apprehensively, knowing the type of comfort Tyson likes to give and knows that it's not appropriate at this point in time, especially not with the way his mind is currently befuddled with unnerving emotions and thoughts.

And his weariness of the other male proves true when Tyson quickly leans forward to press their lips together rather forcefully, causing Kai to tense himself further.

Although this isn't the first time Tyson has kissed him suddenly, he has always been impulsive, no matter how many times he tries to coax him to kiss back; Kai just can't bring himself to do it. Tyson's kisses are harder and executed far more hastily than Hiro's deep, slow and explorative kisses. As with everything else in his life, the younger Granger brother doesn't like to take things slow and likes to immediately jump in.

Placing his hands on Tyson's face, Kai pushes him back and away from him, adamantly forcing the abrupt kiss to a swift end. "Tyson, stop, that wasn't fair," he says as he tries to keep his anger in check.

A mild sense of displeasure appears in Tyson's gaze for a moment and he is reluctant to let Kai move away from him. "What?"

However, Kai manages to disentangle himself from Tyson's grip and moves away a little. "Don't take advantage of me like that."

"I'm just comforting you," Tyson says quite plainly, appearing as if he doesn't know why Kai is acting this way.

A sense of annoyance appears in Kai's chest at that statement and he pushes himself further away from the other male, a frown gracing his lips. "This isn't the type of comfort I need," he tells him tersely, wishing that he could, for once, have someone to talk to that won't be bias towards him or try to use this uncharacteristic moment of weakness to their advantage.

Bruce and Gramps, although two of the greatest help a single parent could ask for, are related to Hiro, so it would be wrong of him to rant and rave about how Hiro abandoned him to them or about how much of a bastard he thinks he is. It would make them feel awkward and ultimately make them question themselves on what they did to make Hiro into such a selfish wanderer.

He can't talk to Ray and Tyson the way he would like as they seem too willing to agree with him, hoping to score brownie points of some kind, hoping that if they agree with him enough, he would forget about Hiro and fall in love with one of them.

He doesn't feel comfortable enough to speak with Kenny or Hilary, and Daichi, forget it! He also doesn't want to burden Mr. Dickinson with his problems, and he can't rant and rave to his childhood friends, the Blitz boys as they would only agree and spend the next few minutes coming up with ideas to make Hiro pay.

The only person he can talk to isn't here at the moment.

"You know I'm feeling confused right now," Kai tells the blue-haired male next to him with a disapproving glance.

"You're not the only one confused."

Dread suddenly settles in the pit of Kai's stomach and he slowly turns around in his seat, his eyes immediately colliding with those of deep and wise mahogany. "Hiro?" he whispers softly when he realizes that the older male as this look of utter annoyance with an underlining of jealousy on his face.

"Oh, hey Hiro," Tyson greets, a little bit too tersely for Kai's likening as he knows whenever Tyson uses that tone of voice, there's going to be an argument of some kind to come.

Narrowing his eyes into an accusing look, Hiro folds his arms over his chest in a commanding way. "What's going on here?" he says in a way that isn't so much as a question, but more as a demand.

"What does it look like?" Tyson simpers back at him.

Kai doesn't know why he is suddenly feeling nervous and guilty, his heart rapidly beating in his chest. It's not like he has done anything wrong that should warrant him feeling a sense of guilt. He isn't dating anyone at the moment and Tyson kissed him first.

It's not like he and Hiro are dating and Hiro just caught his lover in a scandalous position with his own brother.

But Hiro does seem to be glaring with a huge amount of annoyance at Tyson as he seemingly protectively stands over the two of them.

"Nothing's going on," Kai says stiffly as he climbs to his feet, the urgency to leave the two brothers overriding all other senses. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to check on Toshiro."

Before either Granger brother could make a sound of protest, Kai abruptly turns on his heel and quickly walks away, pressing his lips into a thin line when he can feel two sets of eyes literally boring into his back.

Running a hand through his hair, Kai mutters darkly under his breath when he realizes that his stress levels have just increased at the thought of the two brothers quarrelling with each other...over him.

"I really don't need this shit right now," Kai murmurs to himself as he watches Toshiro from a distance as he plays with a blue ball he must have found from somewhere. That carefree smile that always seems to grace Toshiro's features is still in place, causing Kai to sigh with relief that his son isn't aware of the tense situation happening around him.

"Hey, Kai!"

Looking up at the sound of his name and the familiar tone of voice, his relief increases further when he finds his sight filled with the familiar form of the ever friendly and optimistic Max waving at him.

Oh, he has never been so happy to see the blonde at this moment in time. Max is the only one of his first original teammates that isn't in love with him. He can hug the blonde whenever he wants and not have to worry that Max will think it's the green light to take things further with him.

No, Max is just a friend, a good friend who loves him, but he isn't _in_ love with him.

He needs to have a good, long chat with Max afterwards. He's had a surprisingly confusing and eventful day, and it's only lunch time!

-----------------------------------------

Hiro watches in silence for a moment as Kai walks away, his posture tenser than he had seen before. Jealousy settles in his chest when he turns his attention to his little brother, gritting his teeth when his mind replays the scene of Tyson kissing Kai over and over again.

He never thought there would be a day where he's jealous of his little brother.

"Is there something going on between you and Kai?" he asks stiffly, giving Tyson as much hostility as he appears to be giving him.

Tyson folds his arms over his chest and takes to his feet, no longer the pudgy teen he was once known for, instead stood a confident, if not slightly arrogant young man. "Why do you want to know?"

Hiro tightens his jaw, trying his best not to sneer at his younger sibling. "You know why I want to know."

The corners of Tyson's mouth twitches into a seemingly teasing grin. "Jealous?"

"Answer me, Tyson," Hiro says with a level voice as he has to literally bite the inside of his mouth to stop himself from bristling.

"Fine, fine," Tyson says as he throws his arms into the air in a sign of defeat. "I love Kai and yet, for some reason, he doesn't return my feelings. In fact, he hasn't dated anyone since you left. Although, he has had plenty of opportunities to do so."

Hiro immediately feels a sense of protective jealousy settle in his chest and he clenches his hands into fists by his sides. "What do you mean?"

"You're not the only one who thinks Kai is beautiful," Tyson says as he shoves his hands into his pockets and moves to brush by him. "Better watch yourself, Hiro. Someone might come in and sweep Kai off his feet."

Despite knowing that Tyson's warning is suppose to leave him stinging with anger, Hiro finds that there is a sense of hope appearing in his stomach. Kai hasn't dated anyone since he left four years ago, does that mean he still has feelings of some kind for him?

Before he has a chance to ponder that thought further, he feels something touch his ankle and he looks down to see a small ball resting by his feet. A moment later a certain young child appears, stunning red eyes and a bright childish smile looking up at him.

Ignoring the resentment that he doesn't know Toshiro's true origin, Hiro finds himself bending down to the little guy's level and smiling at him. He studies the child for a moment, noting that Toshiro has Kai's beautiful eyes, and yet his hair is nothing like Kai's. It's a light blue, nothing like Kai's exotic stormy gray and midnight blue tresses.

If he didn't know better, he could say Toshiro has his hair, but he quickly pushes that thought aside. That's just not possible, right?

"Hey there, kiddo," Hiro greets with a smile as the child picks up the ball and holds it in his tiny hands.

Those red eyes blink at him for a moment before his already cheerful expression brightens further. "Hello!"

A chuckle escapes Hiro's lips at the little one's greeting, noting with a sense of warm at how happy the child appears. Kai must be a wonderful parent, not that's any surprise. "You're a bright one, aren't you?"

"Papa says I'm special," Toshiro says happily, his eyes falling shut as he continues to smile brightly.

"I'm sure he does," Hiro says as he continues to chuckle, starting to understand why Kai is so adamant that this child comes first in everything. He's so cute! "You love you papa a lot, don't you?"

"Yep!" Toshiro says as he suddenly holds the ball up over his head. "He says that I have a Papa like him, and a daddy who's an explorer."

Hiro blinks in surprise. "…Really?"

"Yep!" Toshiro continues, completely naïve of Hiro's confusion. "He tells me that he loves me all the time! He also says that daddy loves me too, but I haven't met him yet. Hmm, I wonder where daddy is? Oh well!"

With his brow creasing into an expression of utter bewilderment, Hiro watches as Toshiro lowers the ball and runs away, laughing brightly and cheerfully. What did the small child mean about having a papa and a daddy? He seems to know the difference between the two names as he always refers to Kai as papa, but Hiro has never heard him call anyone daddy.

Why would Kai tell his own son that he has two fathers?

Again, that causes more questions to arise. What did Kai mean by Toshiro never having a mother? He's no scientist of doctor, but even he knows it takes a man and a woman to create a life, and he knows firsthand that Kai is all male.

Surely, Kai must be playing a few mind games with him as punishment for taking off and staying away as long as he did.

It's not like he had a choice in the matter, he…rather not think about that right now.

Suddenly, a childish squeal of delight pulls Hiro from his musings and he looks up just in time to watch a certain blonde ample into the park, a familiar line of freckles dancing across his cheeks.

It's Max.

A soft smile graces Hiro's lips, but with a strange sensation of jealousy in his chest when Toshiro runs over to Max, only to have Max swoop down and pick the little one up in his arms and holds him high in the air, the kid squealing and laughing with utter delight as Max throws him on his shoulder, rough housing with him.

"Take it easy with my boy, Max," Kai says in a stern tone of voice, but there's this underlying sense of amusement as well.

"Kai!" Max says happily as he places Toshiro down onto his feet and then suddenly places his hands on Kai's sides, around his waist and effortlessly hoists the shorter male into the air, swinging him around as he laughs. "Missed you."

Kai first makes a noise of surprise before a genuine laugh passes his lips and he grabs onto Max's shoulders to give himself a sense of balance. No matter what mood he's in, Max's enthusiasm for life always manages to bring a smile to his face.

"Missed you to," Kai replies with a chuckle as Toshiro giggles and laughs at the sight of his papa in a very funny position with his favorite uncle. "But can you put me down?"

"I thought I heard Max's voice," Hiro says as he approaches the small group, watching in amusement when Max places Kai down onto his feet to openly gape at him. "They weren't joking when they said you've grown."

"Hiro!" Max says loudly in surprise. "You're back!"

Hiro laughs lightly in amusement that some things never change. Max is as bright and bubbly as ever. "Yeah, I'm back."

An expression of excitement flitters across Max's features and he quickly turns to Kai, seemingly seeking confirmation for what he is seeing. But then that excitement dims a little when Kai gives him a forceful smile.

They seem to share a silent conversation where Kai shakes his head slowly, almost sadly as he picks Toshiro up in his arms and hugs him closely for a moment. A frown appears on Max's features for a moment before his expression reverts back to his ever happy-puppy grin and he promptly gives Hiro a huge hug.

Kai watches the scene with Max firing off rapid and random questions to Hiro, his heart clenching tightly in his chest. Hiro is chuckling and smiling that charming smile of his, enjoying Max's company and enthusiasm.

God, he's as handsome as ever. No wonder his heart won't let him love anyone else.

"Papa?" Toshiro says as he begins to wriggle in his arms, eager to get back on his feet to play again. "I wanna play."

"Of course," Kai says as he places his son back on the grass, running his fingers through his hair. "You be careful, ok?"

"Kay!" Toshiro says as he immediately picks up his ball and takes off running again.

Kai watches his son for a moment before realizing that there seems to be someone watching him and he turns around to find Hiro looking at him, Max surprisingly nowhere in sight.

"He's a cute kid," Hiro suddenly says, causing Kai to smile softly at the complement before he has a chance to stop himself.

"He is," Kai agrees as he causally folds his arms over his stomach, trying to hide his nerves at being alone in Hiro's presence again. No matter how much time has passed, Hiro can make him feel weak at the knees with a mere glance.

And the stupid sod just knows it, too.

"Where's Max?"

"Gone to drop a few things off at home," Hiro explains as he cautiously takes a step forward, seemingly waiting to see what Kai's reaction might be. "Apparently he only arrived in the country this morning."

"I see," Kai says, unable to bring himself to step away from Hiro, yet not wanting him to get too close; he's close enough as it is and he knows that the older male is most likely already planning his next trip.

A scream of pain suddenly rips through the somewhat casual atmosphere and Kai immediately whips around toward the source of the voice and to his horror, recognizing it to belong to none other than his own son. His heart literally stops beating in his chest, his lungs constricting and his eyes widening in unadulterated fear when he sees his once lively and bubbly son laying face first on the grass, not moving, yet moaning in pain.

"**_Toshiro!_**"

* * *

Cliff-hanger! Mwahaha!

Kai: -pulls out a sharp katana- What have you done to my son?!

Eeek! Don't hurt me, Kai! Someone help?! –runs away-

Please review.


	12. A Rush to the Hospital

Reviews: Thank you so very much; Painted Ys, DarkBombayAngel, the Light Shadow, pheonix80, FallenHope-Angel, Surrealtraversity, dragonlilly1993, MintCa, black angel falling, marishka91, Rapunzelle, SherryBird, Taijiya Mizu, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, sola-bola, OnlyNotReally, Blaze Queenie, Tenshi of Freedom, HeartlessLittleHamster and kaami for reviewing the last chapter! –_glomps_-

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**Chapter 12:**

**A Rush to the Hospital **

As the cry of terror seemingly echoes through the afternoon air, Kai can feel his heart constrict painfully in his chest as his breath hitches violently in his throat. The sight of his son lying unmoving on the ground, the ball he was playing with moments before rolling away burns harshly into his mind.

Not a split second later, he is kneeling by Toshiro's side, gathering his small body up in his arms instinctively, cradling him in his lap and against his chest. He knows that normally, one is suppose to leave the unconscious person where they found them, but dammit, this is his son! Maternal instinct overrides everything else.

"Toshiro!" Kai cries as tears threaten to form in his eyes, but he hastily wills them back, trying desperately to get a reaction from his precious child. He then utters a keening noise of pain and he begins to squirm uncomfortably in his grip.

He's alive, but what happened to him?!

"Don't move him around too much." Hiro commands, surprising Kai immensely by suddenly appearing by his side, one hand on the small of his back as the other rests gently on Toshiro's forehead, his mahogany eyes hastily trailing over the little one's form. "Lay him still."

Kai glances at his son's face that is creased with pain and feels his chest tighten even more when he realizes that his breathing is labored. "He's barely breathing," he says as he begins to panic and turns eyes of desperation towards Hiro.

All anger and resentment he holds for the older man is gone; instead the need for Hiro to take command of the situation takes its place. Hiro has always had the ability to make things right and he needs him to help him now, more than ever.

"What's wrong with him?" he asks, fear growing in his chest.

He can't lose his son. He just can't!

Hiro doesn't answer him at first, too busy assessing the situation. Moving closer to both Kai and Toshiro, he gently runs his hands over the child before cradling his tiny arm in his large, strong hands. Toshiro's arm feels hot and seems to be swelling quite violently. He also notices a small sharp object embedded in his soft skin and he quickly comes to the conclusion that he has been stung by a bee and is currently experiencing an allergic reaction to it.

"His arm is swelling up," he explains quickly to Kai, using his thumb nail to scrap away the stinger. "He's been stung by a bee, it seems. Is he allergic to them?"

A bee sting? He could lose Toshiro to a stupid little insect?!

"I don't know," Kai mutters pathetically as he cradles Toshiro closer, his mind reeling for information. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. What do I do?"

Hiro remembers passing a hospital on the way here in his car, deciding to go for a quick self-tour of the city after being away for so long. He judges that it's a ten minute drive, but he plans to make it under five if possible.

"Quick, I drove my car here," he explains as he helps Kai to his feet, knowing all too well that the worst thoughts imaginable are running through Kai's mind at this very moment. "We need to get him to the hospital."

"We have to take him to doctor Tenzen, he's our personal doctor," Kai says as Hiro leads him quickly over to his car, an arm around his shoulders, the hand of his other holding Toshiro's swollen arm carefully. "He's not far from here."

"Right," Hiro says as he opens the passenger side door to his car to let Kai practically throw himself in before running to the other side, fishing out his keys at the same time. He needs to move quickly; Toshiro's breathing is becoming more labored by the second and he knows that the lack of oxygen could cause the little one brain damage if he couldn't breathe properly.

No, he's going to make sure that Toshiro gets to the hospital in time. God help him, he's not going to let anything happen to this child.

And it's not because he wants to get on Kai's good side, as that thought has never occurred to him. His concern is genuine, the protective parental instinct he never thought he could have is surging through him, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

As soon as Hiro jumps in the car and turns the motor on, he presses the accelerator to the floorboard and flies off, running through red lights, horns blaring. He doesn't care; his one goal is to make it to the hospital in time.

"Hold on, baby," Kai says with his voice thick with emotion. He's trying hard not to cry, Hiro can tell, causing his own heart to restrict painfully in his chest.

The small child in his arms squirms a little, the movements causing a sense of light relief to ripple through the car. Blearily, Toshiro opens his deep ruby red eyes, half swollen and peers up at Kai. "…Papa?" he mumbles weakly.

Kai has to bite the inside of his mouth to stop a sob from escaping at the weakness heard in his son's voice. "I'm right here."

"Just relax, kiddo, you'll be ok," Hiro says as he momentarily removes a hand from the steering wheel and places it on top of his head in a reassuring manner. "Just think about something that makes you happy, ok?"

Toshiro takes a long moment to peer up at him before shifting closer to Kai. "…Kay," he whispers.

"Good," Hiro says, trying hard to keep his voice level and free of alarm.

Next to him, Kai appears grateful for his ability to stay cool and calm, outwardly at least. For Kai, internally, he's an utter wreck. A million different thoughts are bombarding his mind, none of them good.

"We're just going to visit Dr Tenzen for a moment," Hiro continues as he glances up to see the hospital within sight. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again."

"Will I get a lolly?" Toshiro mumbles, his eyes slowly drooping shut, sinking further into Kai's arms. "I always get a lolly when I see…"

"Toshiro?" Kai asks, this time unable to hide the fear from his voice, truly sounding as if he's on the verge of crying. "Toshie, what's wrong?"

Toshiro releases a whimpering noise and he squeezes his eyes tightly shut, his small body beginning to tremble and his breathing coming out in short, rasp gasps. "It hurts, papa."

This time Kai does cry. "Stay with me, Toshiro."

A string of curses suddenly erupts from Hiro's mouth, mostly because of an ambulance blocking access to the emergency doors. Screeching to a halt, half up on the side walk, he leaps out of his seat and runs over to Kai's side of the car, yanking open the door and helping Kai out with his precious bundle.

By the time they race through the doors, Toshiro's eyes have swollen shut and he can barely draw a breath!

"Tenzen!" Kai all but screams, Toshiro shaking violently in his arms, carrying him over to the front desk where a certain aqua-haired man is conversing with a nurse.

Upon hearing his name, Tenzen immediately turns around, his apple green eyes wide in utter bewilderment, tinged with concern at the blatant fear in the voice he quickly recognizes. "Kai?" he uncharacteristically splutters before turning his gaze to the bundle in his arms. "Wha-?"

"He's not breathing!" Kai tells him, getting right into his personal space to look up at the taller man with eyes of desperation, tears easily making their way down his cheeks. "Do something, please!"

Tenzen wastes no time throwing the folders in his hands to the side, not caring where they land as he calls over his shoulder for a bed, practically ripping Toshiro out of Kai's arms, holding the child closely. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Kai says as he shakes his head frantically, not wanting to waste time answering questions when he's son's life is at stake. "I think he might have been stung by a bee."

A split second later, nurses in green coats surround Tenzen as he places Toshiro down onto the gurney before abruptly wheeling him deeper into the hospital.

Kai tries to follow, but a male nurse blocks his path with a stern, yet sympathetic expression on his face.

"I need you to wait here," he says in a strong tone.

Kai immediately looks at him like he's grown a second head. "What?" he practically spits at him. He can still hear the shouts, demands for meds and equipment, curt responses about his breathing, blood pressure and pulse echoing down the hallway. He needs to be there with his son.

"But my son-!"

"Please," the male nurse says once again, his eyes easily leveling with Kai's own glaring gaze. "We need you to stay here."

Kai looks as if he's about to push the nurse into the wall harshly when a pair of arms seem to appear out of nowhere and pull him against a warm and familiar chest. Kai finds himself sinking into that comforting embrace, allowing Hiro to whisper reassuring words into his ears.

Then, it all becomes too much for him. He presses his face into Hiro's chest and starts crying, deep, retched sobs causes his slender frame to tremble violently, thankful for Hiro's strong arms holding him for had he not been here, he would have crumbled to the floor, his legs unable to support himself.

Normally, he would never, ever cry in front of Hiro. He doesn't want to other male to see how weak he is, yet now, he could care less. He is weak; not being able to help his own child makes him pathetic.

"Don't die," Kai begins to whisper over and over again like a prayer or mantra.

A terrifying realization strikes Kai like a bolt from the blue. Had Hiro not been there with him in the park, he would have certainly lost Toshiro. There was no way he could have gotten Toshiro to the hospital so quickly had it not been for him.

His son could have died in his arms there and then. He would have been alone…and Hiro would never have known he had a son.

Oh god, he almost lost Toshiro. To a Bee, for god's sake!

"Kai, look at me," Hiro suddenly commands, slipping a hand under Kai's chin and forcing him to look into his eyes, to which Kai realizes are almost shimmering with intense concern and fear. "He'll be fine. He'll be ok."

"He's…all I have," Kai whispers, his throat thick with emotion. "I can't lose him. I just can't."

"Shh, he'll be ok," Hiro whispers as he pulls Kai closer against him, running his fingers through his hair in a form of comfort. "You're ok. I'm here."

"I can't lose him, Hiro," Kai whispers as he fists his hands in his shirt, burying his face deeper into his chest. "He's all I have."

"You're not going to lose him, Kai, don't think like that," Hiro says firmly; his voice calm and strong, just like he is. "He's your son, so you know he's tougher than he looks."

"Oh god, Toshiro," Kai continues to cry softly, inwardly cursing himself out for letting anything happen to his son. He promised Toshiro that he won't let anything bad happen to him, and then this happens. "I could have stopped this."

Hiro suddenly grabs him by the upper arms and pushes him back, his eyes narrowing in a look of anger that causes Kai's heart to sink in his chest. "Don't say such ridiculous things like that," he says, looking him sternly in the eyes. "He was stung by a bee, for god's sake, you can't prevent these things."

Kai desperately wants to protest. "But, I..."

"No buts," Hiro cuts him off as he gives him a light shake as if he's trying to shake him sense into him. "Now, look at me." Kai slowly looks into his eyes. "Toshiro will be fine. He'll be fine, ok?"

"Hiro," Kai's breathe hitches in his throat. "Don't leave me."

Hiro immediately draws him back into his arms again. "I'm not leaving you here alone, ok?" he says as he places a soft kiss to his temple, holding him tight in such a way that makes Kai believe that he is also looking for a sense of comfort as well. "I'm not."

Hiro isn't sure why his legs suddenly feel weak. He's experienced far more dramatic events than this and held up better than this. But this is Kai and Toshiro. Good god, he's shaking now. In shock, just like Kai.

Why is he being affected this way? He's seen people he liked near death before, but like didn't quite cover what he feels for Kai, did it? His vulnerability hidden under his tough exterior touches him, and of course they way he acts around Toshiro makes him yearn for a family of his own. And he does feel a sense of responsibility for the young family that Kai and Toshiro make up, yet that doesn't quite explain his reaction to Toshiro nearly dying.

He almost feels like Toshiro is his own son.

"Kai?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Kai pushes himself out of Hiro's arms and spins around, his eyes red and slightly swollen from crying, and his face a sickly pale colour from shock. He suddenly grabs at Tenzen, the older male letting him grab at his white coat.

"How is he?" Kai asks the obvious question.

A gentle, reassuring smile graces his lips. "He's going to be fine," he says as he lifts his arms and places them on Kai's shoulders as when he slumps forward in relief, his forehead resting against his chest. "You can see him now."

Finding a new strength immediately, Kai pushes away from Tenzen and walks down the hallway in the direction Tenzen indicates where his son is resting. He pauses for a moment to glance back at Hiro, noting how Hiro has his hands wound tightly into fists by his sides, appearing as if he wants to follow, but is unsure if he will be welcomed.

"Hiro," Kai says as he nods his head. He wants the older male to be with him. Toshiro is their son, after all. Even if Hiro doesn't know it...yet.

Entering the room, Kai is instantly grateful that Hiro is right behind him. Seeing his son is such a state tears deeply at his heart and he feels yet another sob hitch in his throat. He quickly gets over himself and moves to stand by Toshiro's bed, feeling physically sick at the thought of letting his son lie here all alone.

Hiro moves to the other side of the bed, glancing at all the monitors and machinery beep and hum.

A half hour quickly passes, neither Kai nor Hiro saying a word. Only when Kai sees the steady rise and fall of Toshiro's chest, the swelling in his limbs and face decrease did his heart finally stop thundering in his chest.

"We like to keep him over night," Tenzen's voice abruptly cuts through the silence, causing two of the three occupants to jump slightly at his voice. "He can go home tomorrow morning if his signs are stable."

"Thank god," Kai says as he runs a hand through his hair. "Are you sure he's ok?"

"Yes, but someone needs to watch over him carefully for the next 48 hours," he says, mildly noting how both males seem unwilling to leave the young child's bedside.

Turning his green eyes to the other blue-haired male, Tenzen realizes that he hasn't met this gentleman yet. Is he the infamous Hiro that he has heard so much about?

"I'm not going anywhere," Kai says firmly as he runs his fingers through Toshiro's blue hair.

"I'll stay as well," Hiro says with a no nonsense tone of voice.

Turning his gaze over to Hiro, whose wise mahogany eyes gazing unflinchingly at Toshiro, a sense of protectiveness evident in his posture, Kai once again feels a sense of gratitude towards the handsome man.

Thank the heavens above that Hiro was there with him at the park.

Hiro had no idea that Toshiro is his son, and yet he violated several road laws to get him here to hospital in time, and not once did he hesitate. Sure, Hiro would never let a child suffer, but Kai has never seen him so protective or distraught before in his life.

Kai is now in two-minds. Should he tell him that Toshiro is his son? What will he say? But, what if Hiro gets wanderlust again and disappears, leaving both he and Toshiro behind once again, breaking Toshiro's heart after just learning who he's father is?

"Hiro?" Kai starts as he slowly steps away from the bed to approach the other male, a sense of uncertainly swelling in his chest.

Lifting his weary head up, Hiro peers at him through his bangs, obvious relief shimmering deep within his eyes. "Hmm?"

"I..." Kai stutters, hesitating for a moment before taking a step forward and wrapping his arms around his waist, resting his head on his chest. "Thank you."

"It's nothing," Hiro says as he places his chin on top of Kai's head, his arms lazily wrapping around the slender frame leaning against him. "I'm just glad that he's going to be alright. He's a sweet kid."

A small sense of hope fills Kai's heart as he continues to stand in his loving arms, remembering why he fell for this man in the first place. "Yeah, he is."

* * *

Whoo! This chapter was murder to write. And the fact that I had Kai leaning over my shoulder, ready to impale me with a katana didn't help, either.

Please review.


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